Sometimes it happens that important events happen but that in Italy nobody gives you weight. This happened once again at the end of 2018.
According to the New York Times, moreover not denied, the US Cyber Command has in fact carried out an official cyber offensive operation (the first?) Against a Russian target: the "Internet Research Agency" of St. Petersburg.
The New York Times reported the "confidences" of various people who worked on the project, guaranteeing anonymity of course.
The reason for the attack seems to be linked to the prevention of disinformation campaigns related to President Trump's half-term elections.
In fact, the Internet Research Agency has long been known in the West as the disinformation factory, which houses a thousand "trolls" acting on behalf of the Russian government.
I certainly do not want to go into the merit of disinformation but simply indicate that between fighting a cyber world war hidden behind more or less secret groups and carrying out a cyber preventive attack in the light of the sun there is a difference!
The attack was not carried out against one of the many cyber losers but against Russia, one of the most powerful and organized states from this point of view, or at least that is what has always been said to us.
The fact leads me to reflect.
First, if you think about what happened last November, you can read the operation to the West, or how "Preventive action to prevent illegitimate interference in the presidential elections", or in the conventional way, as aggression against a sovereign state. Everyone thinks as he wants, so nothing changes as we all know, in these things applies ... the "International Law"! The law of the fittest?
However you read it, you can say that the USA, with this attack, have given life to a new course. They have triggered a dangerous fuse, as the "explosive charges" are found scattered all over the world and not only in Russia and the USA, therefore they put at risk the whole world community as possible answers could cause "collateral damage" to the systems all over the world, interconnected or not. They then, finally, with their actions, beautifully declared to be the strongest in the world: an attack in the light of the sun can not be explained otherwise.
And it is on this last point that I want to concentrate. I invite you to take a look at the various Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) listings available online. You will find that those listed are not all, but only a part, linked to the supposed attacks of the "very bad" Russians, Chinese, North Koreans, Iranians and so on.
Never once is a Western State (good by definition?) Conducting an APT.
From time to time there is some group not well identified, perhaps when he acted (but surely it is a coincidence!) Against the Chinese or Russian interests.
Well, you say, war is war. True, but once (though not always!) There was the decency to declare war, if only to try to regulate the conflict and so that those around would understand which side to take, or sometimes to try to limit collateral damage.
A war in cyberspace leaves all those who have not prepared themselves (and they are still many!) At the mercy of incalculable consequences a priori, but on the other hand this is the meaning not too hidden the saying "war is war" .
This "initiative" pushes for the "separation" of the Russian Internet from the world. For some time there have been both Russian and Chinese intentions to "detach" from the internet as we know it today. Russia and China, therefore, closer and closer. Are we sure this is the interest of the West?
Everyone has the freedom to make their own considerations ...
To learn more:
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-cyber-command-...
- https://www.lawfareblog.com/new-contours-cyber-conflict
- https://www.cybercom.mil/
- https://www.fireeye.com/current-threats/apt-groups.html
- https://attack.mitre.org/groups/
