Fergie's Tech Blog

Estonian Cyber-War Highlights Civilian Vulnerabilities

Gadi Evron guest writes in eWeek:

The online attacks against Estonia are being referred to as the first Internet war. If this "war" is anything to go by, simple folk such as you and I may end up as the weak links in our country's defense.

Indeed, the attack's impact was not what we might have expected: It was the civilian infrastructure used by banks, ISPs and home users—not the military's—that was under siege.

The Estonian incident is not the first of its kind. Whenever political tensions manifest between different ethnic groups or countries, the aftermath can be seen online shortly thereafter. Often, this involves attacks by groups of hackers who are sympathetic to one side but have no official affiliation with it.

posted by Fergie @ 8/07/2007 10:55:00 AM