clydeiii/cybersecurity · Datasets at Hugging Face

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12 August 2008
By John Markoff
Before the Gunfire, Cyberattacks
Weeks before bombs started falling on Georgia, a security researcher in
suburban Massachusetts was watching an attack against the country in
cyberspace.
Jose Nazario of Arbor Networks in Lexington noticed a stream of data
directed at Georgian government sites containing the message:
win+love+in+Rusia.
Other Internet experts in the United States said the attacks against Georgia
Internet infrastructure began as early as July 20, with coordinated barrages of
millions of requests
known as distributed denial of service, or D.D.O.S.,
attacks
that overloaded and effectively shut down Georgian servers.
Researchers at Shadowserver, a volunteer group that tracks malicious
network activity, reported that the Web site of the Georgian president, Mikheil
Saakashvili, had been rendered inoperable for 24 hours by multiple D.D.O.S.
attacks. They said the command and control server that directed the attack
was based in the United States and had come online several weeks before it
began the assault.
As it turns out, the July attack may have been a dress rehearsal for an all-out
cyberwar once the shooting started between Georgia and Russia. According
to Internet technical experts, it was the first time a known cyberattack had
coincided with a shooting war.
But it will likely not be the last, said Bill Woodcock, the research director of the
Packet Clearing House, a nonprofit organization that tracks Internet traffic. He
said cyberattacks are so inexpensive and easy to mount, with few fingerprints,
they will almost certainly remain a feature of modern warfare.
It costs about 4 cents per machine,
Mr. Woodcock said.
You could fund
an entire cyberwarfare campaign for the cost of replacing a tank tread, so
you would be foolish not to.
Exactly who was behind the cyberattack is not known. The Georgian
government blamed Russia for the attacks, but the Russian government said it
was not involved. In the end, Georgia, with a population of just 4.6 million and
a relative latecomer to the Internet, saw little effect beyond inaccessibility to
many of its government Web sites, which limited the government
s ability to
spread its message online and to connect with sympathizers around the world
during the fighting with Russia.
It ranks 74th out of 234 nations in terms of Internet addresses, behind Nigeria,
Bangladesh, Bolivia and El Salvador, according to Renesys, a Manchester,
N.H., firm that provides performance data on the state of Internet.
Cyberattacks have far less impact on such a country than they might on a
more Internet-dependent nation, like Israel, Estonia or the United States,
where vital services like transportation, power and banking are tied to the
Internet.
In Georgia, media, communications and transportation companies were also
attacked, according to security researchers. Shadowserver saw the attack
against Georgia spread to computers throughout the government after
Russian troops entered the Georgian province of South Ossetia. The National
Bank of Georgia
s Web site was defaced at one point. Images of 20thcentury dictators as well as an image of Georgia
s president, Mr. Saakashvili,
were placed on the site.
Could this somehow be indirect Russian action?
Yes, but considering Russia is past playing nice and uses real bombs, they
could have attacked more strategic targets or eliminated the infrastructure
kinetically,
said Gadi Evron, an Israeli network security expert.
The nature of
what
s going on isn
t clear,
he said.
The phrase
a wilderness of mirrors
usually describes the murky world
surrounding opposing intelligence agencies. It also neatly summarizes the
array of conflicting facts and accusations encompassing the cyberwar now
taking place in tandem with the Russian fighting in Georgia.
In addition to D.D.O.S. attacks that crippled Georgia
s limited Internet
infrastructure, researchers said there was evidence of redirection of Internet
traffic through Russian telecommunications firms beginning last weekend. The
attacks continued on Tuesday, controlled by software programs that were
located in hosting centers controlled by a Russian telecommunications firms.
A Russian-language Web site, stopgeorgia.ru, also continued to operate and
offer software for download used for D.D.O.S. attacks.
Over the weekend a number of American computer security researchers
tracking malicious programs known as botnets, which were blasting streams
of useless data at Georgian computers, said they saw clear evidence of a
shadowy St. Petersburg-based criminal gang known as the Russian Business
Network, or R.B.N.
The attackers are using the same tools and the same attack commands that
have been used by the R.B.N. and in some cases the attacks are being
launched from computers they are known to control,
said Don Jackson,
director of threat intelligence for SecureWorks, a computer security firm
based in Atlanta.
He noted that in the run-up to the start of the war over the weekend,
computer researchers had watched as botnets were
staged
in preparation
for the attack, and then activated shortly before Russian air strikes began on
Saturday.
The evidence on R.B.N. and whether it is controlled by, or coordinating with
the Russian government remains unclear. The group has been linked to online

12 August 2008

By John Markoff

Before the Gunfire, Cyberattacks

Weeks before bombs started falling on Georgia, a security researcher in

suburban Massachusetts was watching an attack against the country in

cyberspace.

Jose Nazario of Arbor Networks in Lexington noticed a stream of data

directed at Georgian government sites containing the message:

win+love+in+Rusia.

Other Internet experts in the United States said the attacks against Georgia

Internet infrastructure began as early as July 20, with coordinated barrages of

millions of requests

known as distributed denial of service, or D.D.O.S.,

attacks

that overloaded and effectively shut down Georgian servers.

Researchers at Shadowserver, a volunteer group that tracks malicious

network activity, reported that the Web site of the Georgian president, Mikheil

Saakashvili, had been rendered inoperable for 24 hours by multiple D.D.O.S.

attacks. They said the command and control server that directed the attack

was based in the United States and had come online several weeks before it

began the assault.

As it turns out, the July attack may have been a dress rehearsal for an all-out

cyberwar once the shooting started between Georgia and Russia. According

to Internet technical experts, it was the first time a known cyberattack had

coincided with a shooting war.

But it will likely not be the last, said Bill Woodcock, the research director of the

Packet Clearing House, a nonprofit organization that tracks Internet traffic. He

said cyberattacks are so inexpensive and easy to mount, with few fingerprints,

they will almost certainly remain a feature of modern warfare.

It costs about 4 cents per machine,

Mr. Woodcock said.

You could fund

an entire cyberwarfare campaign for the cost of replacing a tank tread, so

you would be foolish not to.

Exactly who was behind the cyberattack is not known. The Georgian

government blamed Russia for the attacks, but the Russian government said it

was not involved. In the end, Georgia, with a population of just 4.6 million and

a relative latecomer to the Internet, saw little effect beyond inaccessibility to

many of its government Web sites, which limited the government

s ability to

spread its message online and to connect with sympathizers around the world

during the fighting with Russia.

It ranks 74th out of 234 nations in terms of Internet addresses, behind Nigeria,

Bangladesh, Bolivia and El Salvador, according to Renesys, a Manchester,

N.H., firm that provides performance data on the state of Internet.

Cyberattacks have far less impact on such a country than they might on a

more Internet-dependent nation, like Israel, Estonia or the United States,

where vital services like transportation, power and banking are tied to the

Internet.

In Georgia, media, communications and transportation companies were also

attacked, according to security researchers. Shadowserver saw the attack

against Georgia spread to computers throughout the government after

Russian troops entered the Georgian province of South Ossetia. The National

Bank of Georgia

s Web site was defaced at one point. Images of 20thcentury dictators as well as an image of Georgia

s president, Mr. Saakashvili,

were placed on the site.

Could this somehow be indirect Russian action?

Yes, but considering Russia is past playing nice and uses real bombs, they

could have attacked more strategic targets or eliminated the infrastructure

kinetically,

said Gadi Evron, an Israeli network security expert.

The nature of

what

s going on isn

t clear,

he said.

The phrase

a wilderness of mirrors

usually describes the murky world

surrounding opposing intelligence agencies. It also neatly summarizes the

array of conflicting facts and accusations encompassing the cyberwar now

taking place in tandem with the Russian fighting in Georgia.

In addition to D.D.O.S. attacks that crippled Georgia

s limited Internet

infrastructure, researchers said there was evidence of redirection of Internet

traffic through Russian telecommunications firms beginning last weekend. The

attacks continued on Tuesday, controlled by software programs that were

located in hosting centers controlled by a Russian telecommunications firms.

A Russian-language Web site, stopgeorgia.ru, also continued to operate and

offer software for download used for D.D.O.S. attacks.

Over the weekend a number of American computer security researchers

tracking malicious programs known as botnets, which were blasting streams

of useless data at Georgian computers, said they saw clear evidence of a

shadowy St. Petersburg-based criminal gang known as the Russian Business

Network, or R.B.N.

The attackers are using the same tools and the same attack commands that

have been used by the R.B.N. and in some cases the attacks are being

launched from computers they are known to control,

said Don Jackson,

director of threat intelligence for SecureWorks, a computer security firm

based in Atlanta.

He noted that in the run-up to the start of the war over the weekend,

computer researchers had watched as botnets were

staged

in preparation

for the attack, and then activated shortly before Russian air strikes began on

Saturday.

The evidence on R.B.N. and whether it is controlled by, or coordinating with

the Russian government remains unclear. The group has been linked to online