- Dave Pearson
In July 2009, thousands of “zombie” computers awoke at once and launched a massive attack against multiple U.S. targets, including the network-heart of the U.S. Department of Defense. The goal of the attack was to overwhelm the target networks with excess internet traffic, thus forcing a total shut down.
Several sites did cease to work.
The attack raced through the Internet, hitting the National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the White House, the New York Stock Exchange, the Treasury Department, the Federal Trade commission, the Secret Service, and the Department of Transportation.
Although some reports indicated North Korea was the source of the cyberattack, this remains unsubstantiated.
Each hour, the Pentagon’s computer networks are probed over a quarter million times by unauthorized users. In fact, if a deep weakness was found, the ensuing digital battle could be lost within seconds.
To protect the Pentagon and the Defense Department’s seven million computers and 15,000 networks worldwide, the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) was established and became operational, May 21, 2010. But USCYBERCOM – the sub-unified command (composed of cyber defense elements from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps) subordinate to the U.S. Strategic Command (the successor to the U.S. Air Force’s Strategic Air Command) – will not be fully operational until October.
The stereotypical geeky, teenage hacker, such as the one depicted in the 1983 cyber-thriller “War Games” is not the enemy feared by the U.S. military today. The threat is instead posed by digital gangs, criminals for hire, terrorists, and nation-states which have formed highly-efficient cyber-attack units. The attacker’s identity is often disguised. The physical source of the attacker is more than likely a “zombie” computer covertly seized months before the attack, unbeknownst to the owner of the targeted computer.
These secretly hijacked computers or “zombies” can number in the hundreds of thousands forming a network commonly referred to as a “botnet.” These stealth “botnet” attacks against U.S. systems originate from all over the world, including Russia, China, North Korea, and even inside the U.S.
Moreover, the resources needed to initiate a devastating attack on the U.S. information infrastructure are no longer out of reach of terrorists. Cyberspace is the ideal realm for cyberterrorism, including terrorist networks and organizations like Al Qaeda and Hezbollah. And the Internet is the ideal tool by which to attack the U.S. on a massive scale, both militarily, as well as the entire U.S. civilian infrastructure, including the U.S. financial centers, electrical grid, telecommunications, air traffic control, and multi-national corporations.
USCYBERCOM is a 1,000–plus organization headquartered at Fort Meade, Maryland. In May, U.S. Army Gen. Keith Alexander – who also directs the NSA – became the first commander of USCYBERCOM.
The U.S. is not alone in the establishment of a new a cyber-warfare capability. This past year, the UK established a Cyber Security Operations Centre, while North and South Korea already have cyber warfare units.
Reflecting its unique role, USCYBERCOM’s emblem has an embedded secret code, “9ec4c12949a4f31474f299058ce2b22a.” Although not intended to be unbreakable according to a CYBERCOM spokesperson, the code represents the MD5 hash, a popular encryptor, of the organization’s mission statement. In brief, USCYBERCOM mission is to protect DoD networks, essentially the “dot-mil” domain.
– Dave Pearson – a practicing E.R. physician in Charlotte, N.C. – is a member of the U.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team. He is the author of the just-released cyber-thriller STORM. Visit him at www.stormnovel.com. 
