clydeiii/cybersecurity · Datasets at Hugging Face

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or throughout the internet. (Wilson, 2006:15-16)
A major vulnerability for any IT system is the computer user. Whether the
computer user is a military member, a government employee, or just a
computer user sitting in front of his computer at home, their practices can
cause serious damage to a computer system. Normal computer users
receive little or no training in the best security practices. (Wilson, 2006:14)
The cost of poor security practices can be high. Along with the loss of data
or the disruption of service there is also the physical cost associated with
malware and viruses. For example, in 2007 the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) uncovered a botnet campaign that caused losses of
over 20 million dollars (Cornish, 2009:9). One of the botnet hackers that
was caught by the FBI and sentenced to prison used botnets to steal
peoples
identities and bank account information. After gaining access to
personal information and passwords he made on-line purchases and
transferred money from the bank accounts. Another cyber attacker used a
phishing scheme where he collected information through infected emails
(Wired Staff, 2009). This section highlighted how the computer user has
made IT structures even more vulnerable and the Simm affair
demonstrates how cyber espionage adds to that vulnerability. If countries
like the U.S. and Estonia that have highly developed IT infrastructure can
be attacked, it is not hard to imagine the vulnerabilities less developed
former Soviet satellites have in their IT development phase.
9. The Russian Federation
In this article study several cyber attacks have been attributed to Russia.
Regardless of whether the government of Russia is responsible for the
attacks, or merely sanctioned them, for many the perception remains that
Russia was behind the cyber attacks. I will examine Russia
s use of cyber
warfare against former Soviet satellite states. (Davis, 2009)
Volume 11, 2009
Baltic Security & Defence Review
The Russian government views itself as the victim in the case of the cyber
attacks on Estonia in 2007. According to sources in the Kremlin the
website of the President of Russia came under a cyber attack. This was
supposedly the largest attack the Russians have faced and it appeared that
the servers used to originate the attack were located in the Baltic States.
The Deputy Press Secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov,
countered accusations from Estonia with the fact that Russian government
websites are under attack every day from all over the world. (The Baltic
Times, 2007a)
Even as cyber attacks occurred against Georgia, Russians said that they
were also the victims of cyber attacks. Russia Today 8, a major media source
in Russia, was shut down because of a denial of service attacks directed
towards its websites. IT security specialists that work for Russia Today
believe that the denial of service attacks originated from Tbilisi, the capital
of Georgia. (Watson, 2008)
In the aftermath of the cyber attacks on Estonia, Georgia, and other
attacks mentioned in this article, the Russian response was to deny any
involvement in any cyber attack. When confronted with evidence that
some of the attacks originated from Russian government computers
members of the Russian government countered with the fact that
computers from all over the world were hijacked and used to attack
different computer systems. (The Baltic Times, 2007a)
Another fact that Russian officials are quick to point out is that the only
person arrested for the 2007 cyber attacks on Estonia was an Estonian.
Dmitri Galushkevich, a 20 year old ethnic Russian, who was convicted for
the cyber attacks. Some members of the Estonian government have issued
statements doubting the involvement of the Russian government in the
cyber attacks. (Greenberg, 2008)
With the finger pointing that ensues after a cyber attack it is still unclear
who was behind the attacks. The actions of cyber activist groups, or
hactivists, will be examined in the case of the cyber attacks on Estonia and
Georgia. Hactivists are individuals that use cyber attacks to take a patriotic
or political stand on a political or international issue. (Melikishvili,
2008/2009)
Baltic Security & Defence Review
Volume 11, 2009
During the protests in Estonia, increased chatter and postings on how to
conduct and participate in denial of service attacks were found on Russian
internet chat sites (Melikishvili, 2008/2009). Along with the denial of
service attacks, some of the Estonian government websites were hacked in
order to deface the site. The sayings on the websites were very pro Russian
and very anti Estonian. Joshua Davis in Wired Magazine supports the view
that the reason behind the attacks was nothing more than Russian pride.
(Davis, 2009)
In March of 2009 a member of a Russian pro-Kremlin youth group,
Konstantin Goloskokov, publicly took responsibility for creating the 2007
cyber attacks on Estonia. Goloskokov is a leader of the youth movement
Nashi that has routinely conducted cyber attacks and intimidation
campaigns on behalf of the Russian government. The government of the
Russian Federation is able to maintain separation from the youth group
because it does not directly fund their activities. The youth groups are
funded by pro-government business owners who are trying to gain favour
from the Russian government (Shachtman, 2009). Goloskokov believes
that his actions were not illegal but were,
an act of civil disobedience
organized within the confines of virtual space
(Buranov, Vodo &
Yegikyan, 2009). The cultural aspects or belief that actions in the cyber
world are beyond the law is a consequence for the Russian government
and how cyber attacks affect their international relationships.
An assistant to Sergei Markov, a member of Russia
s State Duma lower
house, has also admitted to using his own initiative to conduct cyber
attacks against Estonia (Baltic News Service, 2009). Rein Lang, the
Estonian Justice Minister, is contemplating issuing a European arrest
warrant for individuals who have admitted to taking part in the attack. The
idea for the warrant is not to send law enforcement officials into Russia,
but to have the alleged perpetrators arrested whenever they leave the

or throughout the internet. (Wilson, 2006:15-16)

A major vulnerability for any IT system is the computer user. Whether the

computer user is a military member, a government employee, or just a

computer user sitting in front of his computer at home, their practices can

cause serious damage to a computer system. Normal computer users

receive little or no training in the best security practices. (Wilson, 2006:14)

The cost of poor security practices can be high. Along with the loss of data

or the disruption of service there is also the physical cost associated with

malware and viruses. For example, in 2007 the Federal Bureau of

Investigation (FBI) uncovered a botnet campaign that caused losses of

over 20 million dollars (Cornish, 2009:9). One of the botnet hackers that

was caught by the FBI and sentenced to prison used botnets to steal

peoples

identities and bank account information. After gaining access to

personal information and passwords he made on-line purchases and

transferred money from the bank accounts. Another cyber attacker used a

phishing scheme where he collected information through infected emails

(Wired Staff, 2009). This section highlighted how the computer user has

made IT structures even more vulnerable and the Simm affair

demonstrates how cyber espionage adds to that vulnerability. If countries

like the U.S. and Estonia that have highly developed IT infrastructure can

be attacked, it is not hard to imagine the vulnerabilities less developed

former Soviet satellites have in their IT development phase.

9. The Russian Federation

In this article study several cyber attacks have been attributed to Russia.

Regardless of whether the government of Russia is responsible for the

attacks, or merely sanctioned them, for many the perception remains that

Russia was behind the cyber attacks. I will examine Russia

s use of cyber

warfare against former Soviet satellite states. (Davis, 2009)

Volume 11, 2009

Baltic Security & Defence Review

The Russian government views itself as the victim in the case of the cyber

attacks on Estonia in 2007. According to sources in the Kremlin the

website of the President of Russia came under a cyber attack. This was

supposedly the largest attack the Russians have faced and it appeared that

the servers used to originate the attack were located in the Baltic States.

The Deputy Press Secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov,

countered accusations from Estonia with the fact that Russian government

websites are under attack every day from all over the world. (The Baltic

Times, 2007a)

Even as cyber attacks occurred against Georgia, Russians said that they

were also the victims of cyber attacks. Russia Today 8, a major media source

in Russia, was shut down because of a denial of service attacks directed

towards its websites. IT security specialists that work for Russia Today

believe that the denial of service attacks originated from Tbilisi, the capital

of Georgia. (Watson, 2008)

In the aftermath of the cyber attacks on Estonia, Georgia, and other

attacks mentioned in this article, the Russian response was to deny any

involvement in any cyber attack. When confronted with evidence that

some of the attacks originated from Russian government computers

members of the Russian government countered with the fact that

computers from all over the world were hijacked and used to attack

different computer systems. (The Baltic Times, 2007a)

Another fact that Russian officials are quick to point out is that the only

person arrested for the 2007 cyber attacks on Estonia was an Estonian.

Dmitri Galushkevich, a 20 year old ethnic Russian, who was convicted for

the cyber attacks. Some members of the Estonian government have issued

statements doubting the involvement of the Russian government in the

cyber attacks. (Greenberg, 2008)

With the finger pointing that ensues after a cyber attack it is still unclear

who was behind the attacks. The actions of cyber activist groups, or

hactivists, will be examined in the case of the cyber attacks on Estonia and

Georgia. Hactivists are individuals that use cyber attacks to take a patriotic

or political stand on a political or international issue. (Melikishvili,

2008/2009)

Baltic Security & Defence Review

Volume 11, 2009

During the protests in Estonia, increased chatter and postings on how to

conduct and participate in denial of service attacks were found on Russian

internet chat sites (Melikishvili, 2008/2009). Along with the denial of

service attacks, some of the Estonian government websites were hacked in

order to deface the site. The sayings on the websites were very pro Russian

and very anti Estonian. Joshua Davis in Wired Magazine supports the view

that the reason behind the attacks was nothing more than Russian pride.

(Davis, 2009)

In March of 2009 a member of a Russian pro-Kremlin youth group,

Konstantin Goloskokov, publicly took responsibility for creating the 2007

cyber attacks on Estonia. Goloskokov is a leader of the youth movement

Nashi that has routinely conducted cyber attacks and intimidation

campaigns on behalf of the Russian government. The government of the

Russian Federation is able to maintain separation from the youth group

because it does not directly fund their activities. The youth groups are

funded by pro-government business owners who are trying to gain favour

from the Russian government (Shachtman, 2009). Goloskokov believes

that his actions were not illegal but were,

an act of civil disobedience

organized within the confines of virtual space

(Buranov, Vodo &

Yegikyan, 2009). The cultural aspects or belief that actions in the cyber

world are beyond the law is a consequence for the Russian government

and how cyber attacks affect their international relationships.

An assistant to Sergei Markov, a member of Russia

s State Duma lower

house, has also admitted to using his own initiative to conduct cyber

attacks against Estonia (Baltic News Service, 2009). Rein Lang, the

Estonian Justice Minister, is contemplating issuing a European arrest

warrant for individuals who have admitted to taking part in the attack. The

idea for the warrant is not to send law enforcement officials into Russia,

but to have the alleged perpetrators arrested whenever they leave the