Cyber warfare: What are the targets?

So far, cyber attacks have had limited access to bank accounts for short periods of time, and some personal information has been stolen by hackers. There have also been quite a few denials of service attacks that delayed transfer of funds.“Preparing for months without a commercial source of clean water (city water pressure is often dependent on electric pumping to storage towers) and stoppage of sewage treatment facilities will require net methods of survival particularly in populated areas,” according to the little known May 2011 military study put out by the U.S. Army War College.Parts of the nation have had to deal with tainted water sources due to natural disasters. However if the computer systems coordinating the aqueducts and transportation of water was to be interrupted, much like restarting electrical grids, it could takes days before any water might be available to the public. Additionally even the normal flow of waste water into the sewage system could multiple the problems of a compromised water system.View the list »
The transportation systems are a likely target in the event of a cyber war attack.

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The final version of a NATO document expected to shape cyber warfare policies among Western nations was formally launched in London on March 15 and made available to the public on March 18. The 215 page Tallinn Manual is the first attempt to codify how international law applies to online attacks. It includes a provision that makes it clear that a full-scale war may be triggered by cyber warfare if civilians have been injured, killed or the attack results in significant damage to property.

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The handbook, written by 20 legal experts working in conjunction with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the US Cyber Command, says that in accordance with Geneva conventions that specific key civilian sites are outlawed. Rule 80 of the handbook states: "In order to avoid the release of dangerous forces and consequent severe losses among the civilian population, particular care must be taken during cyber-attacks against works an installations containing dangerous forces, namely dams, dykes and nuclear electrical generating stations, as well as installations located in their vicinity." Hospitals and medical units are also protected as they would be under rules governing traditional warfare.

Colonel Kirby Abbott, an assistant legal adviser at Nato, said at the launch that the manual was now "the most important document in the law of cyber-warfare. It will be highly useful."

However, our nation’s military and intelligence leaders have raised the volume on their alarms.

“You don’t hear a gun shoot, you don’t hear a plane fly, you just have this situation where [hackers] are gaining access to our most sensitive information,” said Senator John McCain, who added that people are beginning to realize the magnitude of the problem.

The question is what are the most likely targets? The very same targets that have been declared outlawed would be best choice of targets in terms of a strategy to bring a nation to its knees, especially a country that depends on technology. Will cyber hackers, cyber spies and hostile nations observe these rules?

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  • Parts of the nation have had to deal with tainted water sources due to natural disasters. However if the computer systems coordinating the aqueducts and transportation of water was to be interrupted, much like restarting electrical grids, it could takes days before any water might be available to the public. Additionally even the normal flow of waste water into the sewage system could multiple the problems of a compromised water system.
  • “Preparing for months without a commercial source of clean water (city water pressure is often dependent on electric pumping to storage towers) and stoppage of sewage treatment facilities will require net methods of survival particularly in populated areas,” according to the little known May 2011 military study put out by the U.S. Army War College.
  • So far, cyber attacks have had limited access to bank accounts for short periods of time, and some personal information has been stolen by hackers. There have also been quite a few denials of service attacks that delayed transfer of funds.
  • According to Larry Ponemon, founder of the Ponemon Institute, a think tank that studies data privacy, hackers want to do more than disrupt: they want to make money disappear.“In a successful attack against a bank, credentials and passwords are gone,” he said. “Hackers are trying to go into accounts to steal large sums of money.” Maybe, but imagine, for example, that cyber thieves were able to steal just 1 percent or less from JP Morgan’s $2 trillion in assets.
  • Our nation is dependent on a system of cooperation among multiple power grids taking care of electricity and gas. That would include the ability to heat or cool food by consumers, stores and restaurants. It might even disrupt communication systems that run on electricity and most buildings would need to shut down due to the lack of air conditioning and security systems. If a number of grids are compromised it could put additional strains on the remaining systems or leave both consumers and businesses in the dark for days at end. Retailers including anyone dependent on electronic payment systems or cash registers that control inventory would be unable to open for business.
  • The Defense Department relies some 99 percent on the U.S. national electric grid system. However, it doesn’t control the grid and must work with the civilian sector and develop good relationships and collaboration, according to John Schauffert of U.S. Northern Command.The energy sector was the target of more than 40 percent of all reported cyberattacks on critical infrastructure networks in 2012, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
  • In the event of a cyber attack it is conceivable that the military would take over all public transportation or that controls would pass to other systems as they did during 9/11.  However getting all planes and passengers stuck restarted in the highly complex system of flight arrival and departures could take weeks depending on the severity of the attack.
  • According to Tom Kellermann, vice president of cyber security for Trend Micro, attacks on infrastructure could also provide false information to people making life and death decisions. For instance, hackers could target air traffic control systems, providing false information that could cause planes to crash. “Everyone implicitly trusts his or her computer,” he said. “A cyber attack can corrupt this information.”
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Linda Foley is a nationally awarded expert in identity theft and has been an advocate for child and family identity theft victims for 13 years. She has testified in state and federal hearings, has been featured on dozens of magazine and newspaper articles, and written extensively about the impact...

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