Advent of Cyberweapons and eBombs - Futuristic Internet

America is up to something. It is an open secret that Pentagon has commissioned military contractors to develop a highly classified replica of the Internet of the future. The goal is to simulate what it would take for adversaries to shut down the country’s power stations, telecommunications and aviation systems, or freeze the financial markets — in an effort to build better defenses against such attacks, as well as a new generation of online weapons.

What prompted the above clandestine move? Thousands of daily attacks on federal and private computer systems in the United States — many from China and Russia, some malicious and some testing chinks in the patchwork of American firewalls — have prompted the Obama administration to review American strategy.

How would America started their defense in Cyberspace warfare?

The most exotic innovations under consideration would enable a Pentagon programmer to surreptitiously enter a computer server in Russia or China, for example, and destroy a “botnet” — a potentially destructive program that commandeers infected machines into a vast network that can be clandestinely controlled — before it could be unleashed in the United States.

Or American intelligence agencies could activate malicious code that is secretly embedded on computer chips when they are manufactured, enabling the United States to take command of an enemy’s computers by remote control over the Internet. That, of course, is exactly the kind of attack officials fear could be launched on American targets, often through Chinese-made chips or computer servers.

Hybrid Warfare

The advent of Internet attacks — especially those suspected of being directed by nations, not hackers — has given rise to a new term inside the Pentagon and the National Security Agency: “hybrid warfare.”

Early hints of this new kind of warfare emerged in the confrontation between Russia and Estonia in April 2007. Clandestine groups — it was never determined if they had links to the Russian government — commandeered computers around the globe and directed a fire hose of data at Estonia’s banking system and its government Web sites.

The computer screens of Estonians trying to do business with the government online were frozen, if they got anything at all. It was annoying, but by the standards of cyberwar, it was child’s play.

Cyber Storm War Game

Another cyberwar game that the Department of Homeland Security sponsored in March 2008, called Cyber Storm II, envisioned a far larger, coordinated attack against the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It studied a disruption of chemical plants, rail lines, oil and gas pipelines and private computer networks. That study and others like it concluded that when attacks go global, the potential economic repercussions increase exponentially.

Cyberwar - The Digital Arms Race

Computers, indispensable in peace, are becoming ever more important in political conflicts and open warfare. This is the first article in a series on the growing use of computing power as a weapon.

e-Bombs

Most people do not equate cyber war with explosives, but that is short sighted. Ever heard of TEDs or EPFCs? If you haven’t, you are not alone. In a recent briefing of 85 individuals responsible for business continuity in a major U.S. city, no one had ever heard of the two terms either.

TEDs and EPFCs are two weapons that create an EMP - electromagnetic pulse (similar to that nuclear explosion but less powerful) that destroy electronic circuitry. Both of these devices use conventional explosives to push an armature through and electromagnetic field.

The resulting pulse generated by a van size device could destroy electronics in an area up to a couple city blocks.

* TEDs – Transient electromagnetic devices
* EPFCs – Explosively pumped flux compressor
* Development Assessment Cost = Low between $500 and $1,000
* Design = Multiple websites had fairly detailed design plans
* Skill Set = Moderate – basic wiring and mechanical skills. (High School Shop Class)
* Detection = Low due to the minimal amount of special needs required to build a device. The only special material required are conventional explosives.
* Defense = Building data centers underground and metal shielding as well as utilities isolation would be required to defend against such an attack.

EMP weapons attack our computers and communications infrastructure. The development of TEDs and EPFCs now makes the threat of an EMP attack much more likely. These EMP weapons pose a unique threat to the electronic society and our national security and economy.

Air Force Cyberspace Command (AFCYBER)

The newest major command of the United States Air Force is the Air Force Cyberspace Command (Provisional) located at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., with the mission of creating a permanent Air Force Cyberspace Command by October 2008 and providing the foundation for a follow-on global effects command. Full Operational Capability is planned for October 2009.

Source: NYTimes - U.S. Plans Attack and Defense in Cyberspace Warfare


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