Cyber Warfare: Changing the Battlefield

July 2, 2014

Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the head of Israel’s most powerful intelligence agency, recently described a changing battlefield which, he says, will represent the greatest shift in combat doctrine in over 1,000 years. Even in the face of the 170,000 rockets that Kochavi says are pointed at Israel by enemy states, and the dangers posed by Iran’s rogue nuclear program, Israel is scrambling to keep ahead of this new international menace: called cyber warfare or cyber espionage. It is not only changing the battlefield, but intelligence gathering as well.

And though cyber warfare poses a huge threat to governments the world over, it is difficult to get them to agree on a definition, let alone a plan of action. The United Nation’s Inter-regional Crime & Justice Research Institute website says this:

“A great deal of debate circles around the concept of cyber warfare—and definitions are rarely agreed upon. While some claim that cyber warfare is the fifth domain of warfare (after land, sea, air and space) others simply claim the term is an attempt at sensationalism. From a more specific perspective, cyber warfare refers to any action by a nation-state to penetrate another nation’s computer networks for the purpose of causing some sort of damage. However, broader definitions claim that cyber warfare also includes acts of ‘cyber hooliganism’, cyber vandalism or cyber terrorism.

“Cyber warfare can consist of many threats, namely:

“Online acts of espionage and security breaches—which are acts done to obtain national material and information of a sensitive or classified nature through the exploitation of the internet (e.g. exploitation of network flaws through malicious software).

“Sabotage—the use of the internet by one nation state to disrupt online communications systems of another nation state (e.g. military communication networks) with the intent to cause damage and disadvantage.”

Eugene Kaspersky, founder of Kaspersky Labs, has decided that the more accurate term is in fact “cyber terrorism.” The potential for attacks that leave victims clueless as to who did it or when they will strike again is huge. Jeffrey Carr, author of Inside Cyber Warfare, says any country can wage cyber war on any other country, irrespective of resources. Most military forces are network-centric and connected to the internet, which is not secure. For the same reason, non-governmental groups and individuals could also launch cyber terrorist attacks. Carr likens the internet's enabling potential to that of the handgun, which became known as “the great equalizer.”

Regardless of how you define it or the name you give it, Kochavi says, “Cyber, in my humble opinion, will be revealed in a not very long time as a revolution greater than the creation of gunpowder or the usage of aerial space at the start of the past century.” In a recent article in the Times of Israel, he revealed that the IDF’s (Israel Defense Forces) Military Intelligence Directorate, which is already the largest of the army’s corps, is expanding and shifting methodology and approach. “Where once,” he said, “a state’s intelligence service was expected to describe reality, today it must be prepared to alter it.”

Kochavi further revealed that the cyber threats facing Israel are growing “exponentially.” While in the past year the State faced literally hundreds of attacks, the intelligence community faced dozens. And the numbers are increasing every day. Fortunately, so far the vast majority of these attempted cyber terrorist attacks have been unsuccessful.

Today’s Espionage

Recently, Israel joined the US in threatening Iran with undefined consequences if it did not agree to certain redlines in the negotiations over its controversial nuclear weapons program. Iran responded with threats of its own, all having to do with its cyber capabilities. China and Russia are stepping up their cyber warfare as well, leaving Israel concerned that it may be on the receiving of end of such attacks more often.

Particularly worrisome to Israeli experts is the malware Russia is believed to have used to infect Ukrainian systems. A particularly sophisticated espionage tool called the Snake, this malware is believed to be providing Russia with up to the minute operational intelligence about what is going on in Ukraine. This not only gives Russia complete informational dominance in Ukraine, but it also provides effective control of the country’s digital systems. Israel also believes that several Middle East countries used Russian hackers to attack Israeli systems during the 2006 war against Hizbullah.

Planning for the Future

Though Kochavi and others are speaking of this threat as though it has just emerged on the world scene, Israel has actually been involved in cyber war research and development for decades.

However, as attacks increase in number and sophistication, Israel is painfully aware of how high the stakes actually are. At a time when military budgets worldwide are being cut, Israel has increased its budget for cyber operations. 

Today we find Israel, together with the US and France, at the forefront of international cyber war planning. Many international high tech companies are now locating research development operations in Israel where local hires are often veterans of the IDF’s elite computer units. Adds one US military analyst, “Our Israeli friends have learned a thing or two from the programs they have been working on for more than two decades.”

Source: By Cheryl Hauer, International Development Director