Cyberwarfare is the use of computer technology to disrupt the activities of a state or organization, especially the deliberate attacking of information systems for strategic or military purposes. As a major
developed economy
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
is highly dependent on the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
and therefore greatly exposed to cyber attacks. At the same time, the United States has substantial capabilities in both defense and
power projection thanks to comparatively advanced technology and a large
military budget
A military budget (or military expenditure), also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a state to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defense purposes.
Financing militar ...
.
Cyber warfare
Cyberwarfare is the use of cyber attacks against an enemy state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, manipulation or economic wa ...
presents a growing threat to physical systems and infrastructures that are linked to the internet. Malicious hacking from domestic or foreign enemies remains a constant threat to the United States. In response to these growing threats, the United States has developed significant cyber capabilities.
The
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
recognizes the use of computers and the Internet to conduct warfare in
cyberspace as a threat to
national security, but also as a platform for attack.
The
United States Cyber Command
United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integr ...
centralizes command of
cyberspace operations, organizes existing cyber resources and synchronizes defense of U.S. military networks. It is an
armed forces Unified Combatant Command
A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...
. A 2021 report by the
International Institute for Strategic Studies
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England.
The 2017 Global Go To Think ...
placed the United States as the world's foremost cyber
superpower, taking into account its cyber offense, defense, and intelligence capabilities.
The Department of Defense Cyber Strategy
In April 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) published its latest Cyber Strategy
building upon the previous DoD Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace published in July 2011.
The DoD Cyber strategy focuses on building capabilities to protect, secure, and defend its own DoD networks, systems and information; defend the nation against cyber attacks; and support
contingency plan
A contingency plan, also known colloquially as Plan B, is a plan devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan. It is often used for risk management for an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have catastrophic conseque ...
s. This includes being prepared to operate and continue to carry out missions in environments impacted by cyber attacks.
The DoD outlines three cyber missions:
# Defend DoD networks, systems, and information.
# Defend the United States and its interests against cyber attacks of significant consequence.
# Provide integrated cyber capabilities to support military operations and contingency plans.
In addition, the Cyber Strategy emphasizes the need to build bridges to the private sector, so that the best talent and technology the United States has to offer is at disposal to the DoD.
The Five Pillars
The five pillars is the base of the Department of Defense's strategy for cyber warfare. The first pillar is to recognize that the new domain for warfare is
cyberspace and that it is similar to the other elements in the
battlespace
Battlespace or battle-space is a term used to signify a unified military strategy to integrate and combine armed forces for the military theatre of operations, including air, information, land, sea, cyber and outer space to achieve milit ...
. The key objectives of this pillar are to build up technical capabilities and accelerate research and development to provide the United States with a technological advantage. The second pillar is proactive defenses as opposed to passive defense. Two examples of passive defense are computer hygiene and
firewalls. The balance of the attacks requires active defense using sensors to provide a rapid response to detect and stop a cyber attack on a
computer network
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are ...
. This would provide military tactics to backtrace, hunt down and attack an enemy intruder. The third pillar is
critical infrastructure protection
Critical infrastructure protection (CIP) is a concept that relates to the preparedness and response to serious incidents that involve the critical infrastructure of a region or nation.
The American Presidential directive PDD-63 of May 1998 set up ...
(CIP) to ensure the protection of critical infrastructure by developing warning systems to anticipate threats. The fourth pillar is the use of
collective defense
Collective security can be understood as a security arrangement, political, regional, or global, in which each state in the system accepts that the security of one is the concern of all, and therefore commits to a collective response to threats t ...
which would provide the ability of early detection, and incorporate it into the cyber warfare defense structure. The goal of this pillar is to explore all options in the face of a conflict, and to minimize loss of life and destruction of property. The fifth pillar is building and maintaining international alliances and partnerships to deter shared threats, and to remain adaptive and flexible to build new alliances as required. This is focused on "priority regions, to include the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Europe".
Trump Administration's National Cyber Strategy
Shortly after his election, U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to deliver an extensive plan to improve U.S. cybersecurity within 90 days of his inauguration. Three weeks after the designated 90-day mark, he signed an executive order that claimed to strengthen government networks. By the new executive order, federal-agency leaders are to be held responsible for breaches on their networks and federal agencies are to follow the National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity in consolidating risk management practices. In addition, the federal departments were to examine cyber defense abilities of agencies within 90 days, focusing on "risk mitigation and acceptance choices" and evaluating needs for funding and sharing technology across departments. Experts in cybersecurity later claimed that the order was "not likely" to have a major impact.
In September, President Trump signed the National Cyber Strategy- "the first fully articulated cyber strategy for the United States since 2003." John Bolton, the National Security Advisor, claimed in September 2018 that the Trump administration's new "National Cyber Strategy" has replaced restrictions on the use of offensive cyber operations with a legal regime that enables the Defense Department and other relevant agencies to operate with a greater authority to penetrate foreign networks to deter hacks on U.S. systems. Describing the new strategy as an endeavor to "create powerful deterrence structures that persuade the adversary not to strike in the first place," Bolton added that decision-making for launching attacks will be moved down the chain of command from requiring the president's approval.
The Defense Department, in its strategy document released in September 2018, further announced that it would "defend forward" U.S. networks by disrupting "malicious cyber activity at its source" and endeavor to "ensure there are consequences for irresponsible cyber behavior" by "preserving peace through strength."
The National Cyber Strategy has also garnered criticisms that evaluating acts of cyberwarfare against the United States still remains ambiguous, as the current U.S. law does not specifically define what constitutes an illegal cyber act that transcends a justifiable computer activity. The legal status of most information security research in the United States is governed by 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which was derided to be "poorly drafted and arbitrarily enforced" by enabling prosecution of useful information security research methods such as Nmap or Shodan. As even the needed services fall into prohibition, top-level information security experts find it challenging to improve the infrastructure of cyberdefense.
Cyberattack as an act of war
In 2011,
The White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...
published an "International Strategy for Cyberspace" that reserved the right to use military force in response to a
cyberattack
A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricte ...
:
In 2013, the
Defense Science Board, an independent advisory committee to the
U.S. Secretary of Defense, went further, stating that "The cyber threat is serious, with potential consequences similar in some ways to the nuclear threat of the
Cold War," and recommending, in response to the "most extreme case" (described as a "catastrophic full spectrum cyber attack"), that "Nuclear weapons would remain the ultimate response and anchor the deterrence ladder."
Attacks on other nations
Iran
In June 2010, Iran was the victim of a cyber attack when its nuclear facility in Natanz was infiltrated by the cyber-worm 'Stuxnet', said to be the most advanced piece of malware ever discovered and significantly increased the profile of cyberwarfare. It destroyed perhaps over 1,000 nuclear centrifuges and, according to a Business Insider article, "
etTehran's atomic program back by at least two years."
Despite a lack of official confirmation,
Gary Samore
Gary Samore is the Crown Family Director of thCrown Center for Middle East Studiesand Professor of the Practice in Politics at Brandeis University. He formerly served as the Executive Director for Research of the Belfer Center for Science and Inte ...
, White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, made a public statement, in which he said, "we're glad they
he Iraniansare having trouble with their centrifuge machine and that we—the US and its allies—are doing everything we can to make sure that we complicate matters for them", offering "winking acknowledgement" of US involvement in Stuxnet.
China
In 2013,
Edward Snowden, a former systems administrator for the
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA) and a counterintelligence trainer at the
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is an intelligence agency and combat support agency of the United States Department of Defense, specializing in defense and military intelligence.
A component of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the ...
(DIA), revealed that the United States government had hacked into Chinese mobile phone companies to collect text messages and had spied on
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...
, one of China's biggest research institutions, as well as home to one of China's six major backbone networks, the China Education and Research Network (CERNET), from where internet data from millions of Chinese citizens could be mined. He said U.S. spy agencies have been watching China and Hong Kong for years.
According to classified documents provided by
Edward Snowden, the
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collect ...
(NSA) has also infiltrated the servers in the headquarters of
Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
, China's largest telecommunications company and the largest telecommunications equipment maker in the world. The plan is to exploit Huawei's technology so that when the company sold equipment to other countries—including both allies and nations that avoid buying American products—the
NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
could roam through their computer and telephone networks to conduct surveillance and, if ordered by the president, offensive cyberoperations.
Russia
In June 2019,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
said that its
electrical grid could be under cyber-attack by the United States. The ''New York Times'' reported that American hackers from the
United States Cyber Command
United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integr ...
planted malware potentially capable of disrupting the Russian electrical grid.
Others
* In 1982, a computer control system stolen from a Canadian company by Soviet spies caused a Soviet gas pipeline to explode. It has been alleged that code for the control system had been modified by the CIA to include a
logic bomb
A logic bomb is a piece of code intentionally inserted into a software system that will set off a malicious function when specified conditions are met. For example, a programmer may hide a piece of code that starts deleting files (such as a sal ...
which changed the pump speeds to cause the explosion,
but this is disputed.
* A 1 April 1991 article in
InfoWorld
''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its siste ...
Magazine ''"Meta-Virus Set to Unleash Plague on Windows 3.0 Users"'' by John Gantz was purported to be an extremely early example of
cyber warfare
Cyberwarfare is the use of cyber attacks against an enemy state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, manipulation or economic wa ...
between 2 countries. In fact the "
AF/91 virus" was an April Fools Joke that was misunderstood and widely re-reported as fact by credulous media.
Cyber threat information sharing
The Pentagon has had an information sharing arrangement, the
(DIBCIA) program, in place with some private defense contractors since 2007 to which access was widened in 2012.
A number of other information sharing initiatives such as the
Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) and
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act
The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA 13th Congress 14th Congress is a United States federal law designed to "improve cybersecurity in the United States through enhanced sharing of information about cybersecurity threats, and for ...
(CISA) have been proposed, but failed for various reasons including fears that they could be used to spy on the general public.
United States Cyber Command
The
United States Cyber Command
United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integr ...
(USCYBERCOM) is a
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
Unified Combatant Command
A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...
. USCYBERCOM plans, coordinates, integrates, synchronizes and conducts activities to: defend Department of Defense information networks and; prepare to conduct "full spectrum military cyberspace operations" to ensure US/Allied freedom of action in cyberspace and deny the same to adversaries.
Army
The
Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) is an Army component command for the
U.S. Cyber Command.
ARCYBER has the following components:
*
Army Network Enterprise Technology Command / 9th Army Signal Command
* Portions of
1st Information Operations Command (Land)
The 1st Information Operations Command (Land), formerly the Land Information Warfare Activity Information Dominance Center (LIWA/IDC), is an information operations unit under the operational control of U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) and head ...
*
United States Army Intelligence and Security Command
The United States Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) is a direct reporting unit that conducts intelligence, security, and information operations for United States Army commanders, partners in the Intelligence Community, and nationa ...
will be under the operational control of ARCYBER for cyber-related actions.
New cyber authorities have been granted under
National Security Presidential Memorandum
National security directives are presidential directives issued for the National Security Council (NSC). Starting with Harry Truman, every president since the founding of the National Security Council in 1947 has issued national security directiv ...
(NSPM) 13;
[Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. (17 September 2018) Trump Eases Cyber Ops, But Safeguards Remain: Joint Staff]
/ref> persistent cyber engagements at Cyber command are the new norm for cyber operations.[Mark Pomerleau (8 May 2019) New authorities mean lots of new missions at Cyber Command]
/ref>
Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command
The U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command (abbreviated as MARFORCYBER) is a functional formation of the United States Marine Corps to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattack. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command is the Marine Corp ...
is a functional formation of the United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
to protect infrastructure from cyberwarfare.
Air Force
The Sixteenth Air Force
The Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) (16 AF) is a United States Air Force (USAF) organization responsible for information warfare, which encompasses intelligence gathering and analysis, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber warfare and ele ...
(16 AF) is the United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
component of United States Cyber Command
United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integr ...
(USCYBERCOM). It has the following components:
*67th Cyberspace Wing
The 67th Cyberspace Wing is a United States Air Force wing stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. It was activated in October 1993 as a military intelligence unit and is assigned to the Sixteenth Air Force.
The wing was first activated ...
*688th Cyberspace Wing
The United States Air Force's 688th Cyberspace Wing is a cyberspace operations unit located at Joint Base San Antonio (Lackland), Texas.
The wing delivers information operations and engineering infrastructure for air, space, and cyberspace mil ...
*689th Combat Communications Wing
The 689th Combat Communications Wing was a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. The wing was activated on 9October 2009 as a subordinate unit of Twenty-Fourth Air Force. On 5June 2013, the wing was in ...
The F-15 and C-130 systems are being hardened from cyber attack
A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricted ...
as of 2019.
Navy
The Navy Cyber Forces
Navy Cyber Forces (CYBERFOR) was the type commander for the U.S. Navy's global cyber workforce. The headquarters was located at 115 Lake View Parkway in Suffolk, Virginia. CYBERFOR provided forces and equipment in cryptology/signals intelligenc ...
(CYBERFOR) is the type of some commanders for the U.S. Navy's global cyber workforce. The headquarters is located at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. CYBERFOR provides forces and equipment in cryptology/signals intelligence, cyber, electronic warfare, information operations, intelligence, networks, and space. In September 2013, the United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
will offer undergraduate students the opportunity, to major in Cyber Operations for the United States.
Fleet Cyber Command is an operating force of the United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
responsible for the Navy's cyber warfare programs. Tenth Fleet
Fleet may refer to:
Vehicles
*Fishing fleet
*Naval fleet
*Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles
*Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company
Places
Canada
* Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet
England
* The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...
is a force provider for Fleet Cyber Command. The fleet components are:
*Naval Network Warfare Command
Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) is the United States Navy's information operations, intelligence, networks, and space unit. Naval Network Warfare Command's mission is to execute, under Commander TENTH Fleet Operational Control, tactica ...
*Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
*Naval Information Operation Commands
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It inc ...
* Combined Task Forces
Timeline
*Systems in the US military and private research institutions were penetrated from March 1998 for almost two years in an incident called Moonlight Maze. The United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
traced the trail back to a mainframe computer in the former Soviet Union but the sponsor of the attacks is unknown and Russia denies any involvement.
*Titan Rain
Titan Rain was a series of coordinated attacks on computer systems in the United States since 2003; they were known to have been ongoing for at least three years. The attacks originated in Guangdong, China. The activity is believed to be associat ...
was the U.S. government's designation given to a series of coordinated attacks on American computer systems since 2003. The attacks were labeled as Chinese in origin, although their precise nature (i.e., state-sponsored espionage, corporate espionage
Industrial espionage, economic espionage, corporate spying, or corporate espionage is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security.
While political espionage is conducted or orchestrated by governme ...
, or random hacker
A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...
attacks) and their real identities (i.e., masked by proxy, zombie computer, spyware/virus infected) remain unknown.
*In 2007, the United States government suffered "an espionage Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
" in which an unknown foreign power ... broke into all of the high tech agencies, all of the military agencies, and downloaded terabytes of information.
*In 2008, a hacking incident occurred on a U.S. Military facility in the Middle East. United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America.
The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the sec ...
William J. Lynn III had the Pentagon release a document, which reflected a "malicious code" on a USB flash drive
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply ( interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A bro ...
spread undetected on both classified and unclassified Pentagon systems, establishing a digital beachhead, from which data could be transferred to servers under foreign control. "It was a network administrator's worst fear: a rogue program operating silently, poised to deliver operational plans into the hands of an unknown adversary. This ... was the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever and it served as an important wake-up call", Lynn wrote in an article for Foreign Affairs.
*Operation Buckshot Yankee, conducted by the United States in response to the 2008 breach which was allegedly conducted by Russia. This operation lasted three years, starting in October 2008 when the breach was first detected. The operation included attempts to recognize and mitigate the malicious code (Agent.btz), which had spread to military computers around the world. The team conducting the operation requested permission to use more offensive means of combating the code, but it was denied by senior officials. Operation Buckshot Yankee was a catalyst for the formation of Cyber Command.
*On 9 February 2009, the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
announced that it will conduct a review of the nation's cyber security to ensure that the Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...
cyber security initiatives are appropriately integrated, resourced and coordinated with the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
and the private sector.
*On 1 April 2009, U.S. lawmakers pushed for the appointment of a White House cyber security "czar" to dramatically escalate U.S. defenses against cyber attacks, crafting proposals that would empower the government to set and enforce security standards for private industry for the first time.
*On 7 April 2009, The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
announced they spent more than $100 million in the last six months responding to and repairing damage from cyber attacks and other computer network problems.
*From December 2009 to January 2010, a cyber attack, dubbed Operation Aurora
Operation Aurora was a series of cyber attacks conducted by advanced persistent threats such as the Elderwood Group based in Beijing, China, with ties to the People's Liberation Army. First publicly disclosed by Google on January 12, 2010, in ...
, was launched from China against Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
and over 20 other companies. Google said the attacks originated from China and that it would "review the feasibility" of its business operations in China following the incident. According to Google, at least 20 other companies in various sectors had been targeted by the attacks. McAfee
McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company head ...
spokespersons claimed that "this is the highest profile attack of its kind that we have seen in recent memory."["Google Attack Is Tip Of Iceberg"]
McAfee Security Insights, 13 January 2010
*In February 2010, the United States Joint Forces Command
United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Ray O ...
released a study which included a summary of the threats posed by the internet: "The open and free flow of information favored by the West will allow adversaries an unprecedented ability to gather intelligence."["The Joint Operating Environment"]
Report released, 18 Feb 2010, pp. 34–36
*On 19 June 2010, United States Senator Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for ...
(I-CT) introduced a bill called "Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act of 2010", which he co-wrote with Senator Susan Collins
Susan Margaret Collins (born December 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, she has held her seat since 1997 and is Maine's longest-serving member of Con ...
(R-ME) and Senator Thomas Carper
Thomas Richard Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician and former military officer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Delaware, having held the seat si ...
(D-DE). If signed into law, this controversial bill, which the American media dubbed the "'' Kill switch bill''", would grant the President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
emergency powers over parts of the Internet. However, all three co-authors of the bill issued a statement that instead, the bill "arrowed
''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by ...
existing broad Presidential authority to take over telecommunications networks".[Senators Say Cybersecurity Bill Has No 'Kill Switch'](_blank)
informationweek.com, 24 June 2010. Retrieved on 25 June 2010.
*In August 2010, the U.S. for the first time publicly warned about the Chinese military's use of civilian computer experts in clandestine cyber attacks aimed at American companies and government agencies. The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
also pointed to an alleged China-based computer spying network dubbed GhostNet that was revealed in a research report last year. The Pentagon stated that the People's Liberation Army was using "information warfare units" to develop viruses
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's ...
to attack enemy computer systems and networks, and those units include civilian computer professionals. Commander Bob Mehal would monitor the PLA's buildup of its cyberwarfare capabilities and "will continue to develop capabilities to counter any potential threat."
* In 2010, American General Keith B. Alexander endorsed talks with Russia over a proposal to limit military attacks in cyberspace, representing a significant shift in U.S. policy.
* In 2011 as part of The Anonymous attack on HBGary Federal information about private companies such as Endgame systems who design offensive software for the Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
were revealed. It was shown that Endgame systems job applicants had previously "managed team of 15 persons, responsible for coordinating offensive computer network operations for the United States Department of Defense and other federal agencies."
* In October 2012, the Pentagon was to host contractors who "want to propose revolutionary technologies for understanding, planning and managing cyberwarfare. It is part of an ambitious program that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
Originally known as the Ad ...
, calls Plan X, and the public description talks about 'understanding the cyber battlespace', quantifying 'battle damage' and working in DARPA's 'cyberwar laboratory.'"
* Starting in September 2012, denial of service attacks, were carried out against the New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
and a number of banks including J.P. Morgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...
. Credit for these attacks was claimed by a hacktivist
In Internet activism, hacktivism, or hactivism (a portmanteau of '' hack'' and '' activism''), is the use of computer-based techniques such as hacking as a form of civil disobedience to promote a political agenda or social change. With roots in h ...
group called the Qassam Cyber Fighters who have labeled the attacks Operation Ababil. The attacks had been executed in several phases and were restarted in March 2013.
* In 2013, the first Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare was published. This publication was the result of an independent study to examine and review laws governing cyber warfare sponsored by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence
NATO CCD COE, officially the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence ( et, italic=yes, K5 or ''NATO küberkaitsekoostöö keskus''), is one of NATO Centres of Excellence, located in Tallinn, Estonia. The centre was established on 14 ...
in 2009.
* In February 2013, the White House Presidential Executive Order (E.o.) 13636 "Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity" was published. This executive order highlighted the policies needed to improve and coordinate cybersecurity, identification of critical infrastructure, reduction of cyber risk, information sharing with the private sector, and ensure civil and privacy liberties protections are incorporated.
* In January 2014, the White House Presidential Policy Directive 28 (PPD-28) on "Signals Intelligence Activities" was published. This presidential policy directive highlighted the principles, limitations of use, process of collection, safeguarding of personal information, and transparency related to the collection and review of cyber intelligence signal activities.
* In August 2014, "gigabytes" of sensitive data were reported stolen from JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
(see 2014 JPMorgan Chase data breach), and the company's internal investigation was reported to have found that the data was sent to a "major Russian city." The FBI was said to be investigating whether the breach was in retaliation for sanctions the United States had imposed on Russia in relation to the 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine
The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Re ...
.
* On 29 May 2014, iSIGHT Partners, a global provider of cyber threat intelligence, uncovered a "long-term" and "unprecedented" cyber espionage that was "the most elaborate cyber espionage campaign using social engineering that has been uncovered to date from any nation". Labelled " Operation Newscaster", it targeted senior U.S. military and diplomatic personnel, congresspeople, journalists, lobbyists, think tankers and defense contractors, including a four-star admiral.
* In December 2014, Cylance Inc. published an investigation on so-called " Operation Cleaver" which targeted over 50 world's unnamed leading enterprises, including in United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
tacitly acknowledged the operation and "warned businesses to stay vigilant and to report any suspicious activity spotted on the companies' computer systems".
* In December 2014, in response to a hack on the US based company Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
(see Sony Pictures hack) believed to be perpetrated by North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
, the US government created new economic sanctions on North Korea and listed the country as a state sponsor of terrorism. After the hack, there was an internet blackout over most of North Korea allegedly caused by the US, but there was no definitive evidence to support that claim.
* In January 2015, terrorist group ISIS hacked United States Central Command
The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...
and took over their Twitter and YouTube accounts. They distributed sensitive information obtained during the attack on various social media platforms.
* In April 2015, The Department of Defense Cyber Strategy was updated and published. Original DoD Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace was published in July 2011.
* In 2015 the United States Office of Personnel Management
The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that manages the US civilian service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight and support, and tends ...
(OPM) was victim to what has been described by federal officials as among the largest breaches of government data in the history of the United States, in which an estimated 21.5 million records were stolen. Information targeted in the breach included personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, as well as names, dates and places of birth, and addresses, and likely involved theft of detailed background security-clearance-related background information.
* In June 2015, the US Department of Defense (DoD) included a chapter dedicated to cyber warfare in the DoD Law of War Manual. See Cyber Warfare section on p. 994.
* In 2016 Cyber Command mounted computer-network attacks on ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
under Operation Glowing Symphony with the intent to disrupt internal communication, manipulate data, and undermine confidence in the group's security. A particular emphasis was placed on locking key figures out of their accounts, deleting files of propaganda, and making it all look like general IT trouble instead of an intentional attack. This operation prompted an internal debate in the American government about whether or not to alert their allies that they would be attacking servers located within other countries.
*In March 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two Russian intelligence agencies, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) for committing "destructive cyber-attacks." The attacks include the NotPetya attack, an assault that was allegedly conducted by the Russian military in February according to statements of the White House and British government, and which the United States Treasury described as "the most destructive and costly cyber-attack in history."
*In March 2018, the United States Justice Department charged nine Iranians with stealing scientific secrets on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. The defendants "stole more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property from universities, and email accounts of employees at private sector companies, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations."
*In September 2018, the United States Justice Department
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
published a criminal complaint against Park Jin Hyok
Park Jin-Hyok (), is a North Korean programmer and hacker. He is best known for his alleged involvement in some of the costliest computer intrusions in history. Park is on the FBI's wanted list. North Korea denies his existence.
Life and caree ...
, a professional hacker alleged to be working for North Korea's military intelligence bureau, for his commitment of three cyber-attacks: attack against Sony Pictures in 2014, the theft of $81m from the central bank of Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
in 2016, and WannaCry 2.0 ransomware attack against hundreds of thousands of computers.
*September 2018, The White House has "authorized offensive cyber operations" against foreign threats as a result of loosened restrictions on the use of digital weapons in line with the president's directive; the National Security Presidential Memorandum
National security directives are presidential directives issued for the National Security Council (NSC). Starting with Harry Truman, every president since the founding of the National Security Council in 1947 has issued national security directiv ...
13 (NSPM 13). This allows the military to carry out such attacks with a shortened approval process.
*In October 2018, the United States Cyber Command
United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integr ...
launched the still-classified Operation Synthetic Theology. A team of experts were deployed to Macedonia, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, and Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
to identify Russian agents interfering in the election. The team was also gathering intelligence on Russia's cyber capabilities and attacking the Internet Research Agency
The Internet Research Agency (IRA; russian: Агентство интернет-исследований, translit=Agentstvo internet-issledovaniy), also known as ''Glavset'' (russian: link=no, Главсеть) and known in Russian Internet sla ...
, a "Kremin-backed troll farm in St. Petersburg".
*Beginning at least by March 2019, persistent cyber operations were applied by the United States against Russia's power grid, seemingly per National Security Presidential Memorandum
National security directives are presidential directives issued for the National Security Council (NSC). Starting with Harry Truman, every president since the founding of the National Security Council in 1947 has issued national security directiv ...
13 (September 2018).
*June 2019, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton
John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006, and as the 26th United Sta ...
announced that U.S. offensive cyber operations would be expanded to include "economic cyber intrusions". These comments appear to reference China's alleged theft of information and data from U.S. corporations.
*In June 2019, President Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
ordered a cyber attack against Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian weapons systems in retaliation to the shooting down of a US drone being in the Strait of Hormuz and two mine attacks on oil tankers. The attacks disabled Iranian computer systems controlling its rocket and missile launchers. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
(IRGC) was specifically targeted.
See also
* Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional)
Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional) (AFCYBER (P)) was a proposed United States Air Force Major Command that existed only in provisional status. On 6 October 2008, the Air Force announced that the command would not be brought into permanent activ ...
* Computer insecurity
Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, the ...
* Cyber spying
Cyber spying, or cyber espionage, is the act or practice of obtaining secrets and information without the permission and knowledge of the holder of the information from individuals, competitors, rivals, groups, governments and enemies for personal, ...
* Cyberstrategy 3.0
* Cyber terrorism
* Cyberwarfare by Russia
Cyberwarfare by Russia includes denial of service attacks, hacker attacks, dissemination of disinformation and propaganda, participation of state-sponsored teams in political blogs, internet surveillance using SORM technology, persecution of ...
* Defense Information Systems Network
The Defense Information System Network (DISN) has been the United States Department of Defense's enterprise telecommunications network for providing data, video, and voice services for 40 years.
The DISN end-to-end infrastructure is composed of ...
* Denial-of-service attack
In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host conn ...
* Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
* Espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
* Hacker (computer security)
* iWar
* Information warfare
Information warfare (IW) (as different from cyber warfare that attacks computers, software, and command control systems) is a concept involving the battlespace use and management of information and communication technology (ICT) in pursuit of a ...
* List of cyber attack threat trends
A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricted ...
* Penetration testing
A penetration test, colloquially known as a pen test or ethical hacking, is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of the system; this is not to be confused with a vulnerability assessment ...
* Proactive Cyber Defence
Proactive cyber defence means acting in anticipation to oppose an attack through cyber and cognitive domains. Proactive cyber defence can be understood as options between offensive and defensive measures. It includes interdicting, disrupting or d ...
* Siberian pipeline sabotage
* Signals intelligence
* Chinese Intelligence Operations in the United States
The United States has often accused the government of the People's Republic of China of attempting to unlawfully acquire U.S. military technology and classified information as well as trade secrets of U.S. companiesFinkle, J. Menn, J., Viswanat ...
* Chinese Information Operations and Warfare
Informatized warfare of China is the implementation of information warfare (IW) within the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and other organizations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Laid out in the Chinese Defence White Paper of 2008, informa ...
* Military-digital complex
* Economic and Industrial Espionage
* U.S. Cyber Command
** Army Cyber Command
** Fleet Cyber Command
** Air Forces Cyber Command
** Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command
The U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command (abbreviated as MARFORCYBER) is a functional formation of the United States Marine Corps to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattack. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command is the Marine Corp ...
References
Further reading
*
* Smeets, Max (4 July 2022). " A US history of not conducting cyber attacks". ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. 78 (4): 208–213.
''Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran''
wit
1 June 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyberwarfare In The United States
Electronic warfare
Hacking (computer security)
Military technology
Military of the United States
Internet in the United States