Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
phishing attacks launched in the second half of 2009. In the second half of 2010, APWG
noticed that Avalanche had nearly ceased its phishing attacks, leading APWG to spec-
ulate that Avalanche was changing strategies and focusing on the propagation of spam
that tricks people into downloading the Zeus Trojan horse [52].
A
cyber attack
is a “computer-to-computer attack that undermines the confidentiality,
integrity, or availability of a computer or information resident on it” [53]. Some nation-
states, terrorist organizations, and allied groups are mounting politically motivated
cyber attacks on the computer and network infrastructure of their opponents, and some
of these efforts have caused major disruptions.
ESTONIA (2007)
The small Baltic country of Estonia was part of the Soviet Union from the end of the
Second World War until it became independent in 1991, and ethnic Russians still make
up about a quarter of its population. In the capital city of Tallinn, a large bronze statue of
a Soviet soldier had long been a point of controversy between Estonians and Russians.
Russians saw it as a symbol of the sacrifices made by Soviet troops in the victory over
Germany in the Great Patriotic War, while Estonians saw it as a symbol of the oppressive
Soviet occupation.
After 16 years of independence, the Estonian government decided to relocate the
controversial statue from downtown Tallinn to a Russian military cemetery in the sub-
urbs. They knew the relocation would be hugely unpopular with the Russians. In fact,
the Russian government had warned that removing the statue would be “disastrous for
Estonians” [54]. The police were prepared for violence, and although ethnic Russians
rioted for two nights after the statue was moved, the damage was limited.
The government also expected an attack on its cyber infrastructure. Sure enough,
an attack came, but its magnitude was greater than anything expected by the govern-
ment's Internet security group. DDoS attacks from nearly a million computers targeted
Estonian government ministries and all of Estonia's major commercial banks, telecom-
munications companies, and media outlets. To combat the attacks, much of Estonia's
Internet was made inaccessible to computers outside the country, and on May 10, 2007,
Estonia's largest bank had to suspend online services for an hour [54, 55].
In 2009 a group of Russian activists connected with Nashi, a pro-Kremlin youth
group, claimed responsibility for the cyber attacks [56].
GEORGIA (2008)
Georgia is another former Soviet republic that gained independence in 1991. South
Ossetia, a region of Georgia adjacent to Russia, gained de facto autonomy from Georgia
after a brief war in 1991, though it continues to be recognized as a part of Georgia by
the international community. On August 7, 2008, after provocations by South Ossetian
separatists, Georgia sent troops into South Ossetia. Russian forces entered South Ossetia
on August 8, and Russian and Georgian troops fought in South Ossetia for four days. A
ceasefire between Georgia and Russia was signed a week later.
