Security researchers are still trying to work out exactly who is responsible for the cyberwar tactics that have knocked many Georgian government Web sites offline. While Georgian officials blamed Russia, many security experts have pointed the finger at the Russian Business Network (RBN), a shadowy outfit — that may no longer even exist — which has previously provided network services for Russian criminal gangs.
But Gadi Evron, a prominent Internet security researcher and the founder of Israel’s Computer Emergency Response Team, posited that the attackers are more likely nationalistic “enthusiasts” than organized criminals or Russian government operatives.
Pointing out that in the current environment almost any distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is likely to be deemed “cyberwar,” Evron wrote on his blog, “Not every fighting is warfare. While Georgia is obviously under a DDoS attack, and it is political in nature, it doesn’t so far seem different than any other online aftermath by fans. Political tensions are always followed by online attacks by sympathizers.”
Since Russia is already using real bombs in Georgia, it could have “eliminated the infrastructure kinetically,” if that were its aim, Evron said.
Is This Warfare?
“Coulda, shoulda. . . the nature of what’s going on isn’t clear, but until we are certain anything state-sponsored is happening on the Internet, it is my official opinion this is not warfare, but just some unaffiliated attacks by Russian hackers and/or some rioting by enthusiastic Russian supporters,” Evron concluded.
Regardless of who is responsible or even the nature of the attacks, “What matters is that the Internet is being used as a tool in warfare,” said Andrew Storms, director of security operations for nCircle Network Security.
DDoS attacks are serious business, Storms added. “Let’s not put a diminutive feel on these cyberattacks. A DDoS attack is still a serious event, and according to…