Cyberwarfare in the United States

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

developed economy, the United States is highly dependent on the Internet 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. Cyber warfare
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 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.[1][2]

The

Unified Combatant Command. A 2021 report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies placed the United States as the world's foremost cyber superpower, taking into account its cyber offense, defense, and intelligence capabilities.[3]

The Department of Defense Cyber Strategy

In September 2023, Department of Defense (DoD) published its latest Cyber Strategy, building upon the previous DoD Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace published in April 2015 and July 2011.[4] 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 plans. This includes being prepared to operate and continue to carry out missions in environments impacted by cyber attacks.

The DoD outlines three cyber missions:

  1. Defend DoD networks, systems, and information.
  2. Defend the United States and its interests against cyber attacks of significant consequence.
  3. 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.[5]

The Five Pillars

1. Build and maintain ready forces and capabilities to conduct cyberspace operations;

2. Defend the DoD information network, secure DoD data, and mitigate risks to DoD missions;

3. Be prepared to defend the U.S. homeland and U.S. vital interests from disruptive or destructive cyber attacks of significant consequence;

4. Build and maintain viable cyber options and plan to use those options to control conflict escalation and to shape the conflict environment at all stages;

5. Build and maintain robust international alliances and partnerships to deter shared threats and increase international security and stability.

—US Department of Defense Cyber Strategy, US DoD, April 2015.

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

collective defense 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".[5]

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.[6] Three weeks after the designated 90-day mark, he signed an executive order that claimed to strengthen government networks.[7][8] 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.[9]

In September, President Trump signed the National Cyber Strategy- "the first fully articulated cyber strategy for the United States since 2003."[10] 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.[11]

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."[12]

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.[13]

Cyberattack as an act of war

In 2011,

The White House published an "International Strategy for Cyberspace" that reserved the right to use military force in response to a cyberattack:[14][15]

When warranted, the United States will respond to hostile acts in cyberspace as we would to any other threat to our country. We reserve the right to use all necessary means – diplomatic, informational, military, and economic – as appropriate and consistent with applicable international law, in order to defend our Nation, our allies, our partners, and our interests. In so doing, we will exhaust all options before military force whenever we can; will carefully weigh the costs and risks of action against the costs of inaction; and will act in a way that reflects our values and strengthens our legitimacy, seeking broad international support whenever possible.

—International Strategy for Cyberspace, The White House, 2011

In 2013, 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,"[16] 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."[17]

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.[18][19] It destroyed perhaps over 1,000 nuclear centrifuges and, according to a Business Insider article, "[set] Tehran's atomic program back by at least two years."[20]

Despite a lack of official confirmation, Gary Samore, White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, made a public statement, in which he said, "we're glad they [the Iranians] are 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.[21]

China

In 2013, Edward Snowden, a former systems administrator for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a counterintelligence trainer at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), revealed that the United States government had hacked into Chinese mobile phone companies to collect text messages and had spied on Tsinghua University, 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.[22]

According to classified documents provided by Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency (NSA) has also infiltrated the servers in the headquarters of Huawei, 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 could roam through their computer and telephone networks to conduct surveillance and, if ordered by the president, offensive cyberoperations.[23]

Russia

In June 2019, Russia said that its electrical grid could be under cyber-attack by the United States.[24] The New York Times reported that American hackers from the United States Cyber Command planted malware potentially capable of disrupting the Russian electrical grid.[25]

Others

  • According to
    At the Abyss: An Insider's History of the Cold War, in 1982, a computer control system stolen from a Canadian company by Soviet spies caused a Soviet gas pipeline to explode. He alleged that code for the control system had been modified by the CIA to include a logic bomb which changed the pump speeds to cause the explosion,[26][27][28] but this is disputed.[29][30]
  • A 1 April 1991 article in
    cyber warfare 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.[32]

Cyber threat information sharing

The Pentagon has had an information sharing arrangement, the Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity and Information Assurance (DIBCIA) program, in place with some private defense contractors since 2007[33] to which access was widened in 2012.[34] A number of other information sharing initiatives such as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) and Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (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

Unified Combatant Command. 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.[35]

Army

The

Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) is an Army component command for the U.S. Cyber Command.[36]
ARCYBER has the following components:

New cyber authorities have been granted under

National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) 13;[40] persistent cyber engagements at Cyber command are the new norm for cyber operations.[41]

Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command is a functional formation of the United States Marine Corps to protect infrastructure from cyberwarfare.[42]

Air Force

The Sixteenth Air Force (16 AF) is the United States Air Force component of United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM).[43] It has the following components:

The F-15 and C-130 systems are being hardened from

cyber attack as of 2019.[44]

Navy

The

Navy Cyber Forces (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 will offer undergraduate students the opportunity, to major in Cyber Operations for the United States.[45]

Fleet Cyber Command is an operating force of the United States Navy responsible for the Navy's cyber warfare programs.[46] Tenth Fleet is a force provider for Fleet Cyber Command.[47] The fleet components are:

Timeline

See also

References

  1. ^ Grenoble, Ryan (16 August 2018). "Trump Reverses Obama-Era Rules on Cyberattacks". HuffPost. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  2. ^ "How the US military is beating hackers at their own game". Business Insider. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  3. ^ Pomerleau, Mark (28 June 2021). "Who can match the US as a cyber superpower? No one". c4isrnet.com. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b Department of Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace (PDF). US DoD. 2011.
  5. ^ a b c US Department of Defense Cyber Strategy (PDF). US Department of Defense. 2015. pp. 2–8.
  6. ^ Williams, Martyn. "Trump's cybersecurity mystery: 90 days in, where's the plan?". Network World. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Nonexistent Trump cybersecurity policy worries experts - The Parallax". The Parallax. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. National Archives
    .
  9. ^ "Trump's cybersecurity order not likely to have a major impact, experts say - The Parallax". The Parallax. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  10. National Archives
    .
  11. ^ Groll, Elias. "Trump Has a New Weapon to Cause 'the Cyber' Mayhem". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  12. National Archives
    .
  13. ^ Wheeler, Tarah. "In Cyberwar, There are No Rules". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  14. National Archives
    .
  15. ^ Alexander, David (15 November 2011). "U.S. reserves right to meet cyber attack with force". Reuters. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  16. ^ Miller, Steven E. "Cyber Threats, Nuclear Analogies? Divergent Trajectories in Adapting to New Dual-Use Technologies - Understanding Cyber Conflict: 14 Analogies". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  17. . Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  18. ^ AFP: Stuxnet worm brings cyber warfare out of virtual world. Google.com (1 October 2010). Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  19. ^ Ralph Langner: Cracking Stuxnet, a 21st-century cyber weapon | Video on Archived 1 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Ted.com. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  20. ^ "US General: Iran's Cyber War Machine 'A Force To Be Reckoned With'". Business Insider. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  21. ^ Gary Samore speaking at the 10 December 2010 Washington Forum of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington DC, reported by C-Span and contained in the PBS program Need to Know ("Cracking the code: Defending against the superweapons of the 21st century cyberwar", 4 minutes into piece)
  22. ^ Rapoza, Kenneth (22 June 2013). "U.S. Hacked China Universities, Mobile Phones, Snowden Tells China Press". Forbes.
  23. ^ SANGER, DAVID; PERLROTH, NICOLE (22 March 2014). "N.S.A. Breached Chinese Servers Seen as Security Threat". The New York Times.
  24. ^ "US and Russia clash over power grid 'hack attacks". BBC News. 18 June 2019.
  25. ^ "How Not To Prevent a Cyberwar With Russia". Wired. 18 June 2019.
  26. .
  27. ^ Markoff, John (26 October 2009). "Cyberwar: Old Trick Threatens the Newest Weapons". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  28. ^ "Cyberwar: War in the fifth domain". The Economist. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  29. ^ Medetsky, Anatoly (18 March 2004). "KGB Veteran Denies CIA Caused '82 Blast". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  30. ^ Hesseldahl, Arik; Kharif, Olga (10 October 2014). "Cyber Crime and Information Warfare: A 30-Year History". Bloomberg Business. p. 2. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  31. ^ Gantz, John (1 April 1991). "Tech Street". InfoWorld. p. 39.
  32. ^ Smith, George (10 March 2003). "Iraqi Cyberwar: an Ageless Joke". SecurityFocus. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  33. ^ "Increased trust boosts Pentagon-industry info sharing", Sean Lyngaas, 22 April 2014, FCW.com
  34. ^ Reed, John. "Pentagon expanding public-private cyber information sharing program." Foreign Policy Magazine, 27 September 2012.
  35. ^ U.S. Department of Defense, Cyber Command Fact Sheet, 21 May 2010 "U.S. Strategic Command - Fact Sheets". Archived from the original on 5 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  36. ^ US Department of Defense (24 May 2010). "DoD Release No. 420-10 Establishment of Army Forces Cyber Command". defense.gov. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  37. ^ "20091203 IO Newsletter v10 no 03".
  38. ^ Patrick Jackson (15 March 2010). "Meet USCybercom: Why the US is fielding a cyber army". BBC News. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  39. ^ "News Release: Army Forces Cyber Command Headquarters Standup Plan Announced". Defense.gov. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  40. ^ Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. (17 September 2018) Trump Eases Cyber Ops, But Safeguards Remain: Joint Staff
  41. ^ Mark Pomerleau (8 May 2019) New authorities mean lots of new missions at Cyber Command
  42. ^ "Fort Mead News: USMC Cyber Command". Ftmeade.army.mil. 28 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  43. ^ "Sixteenth Air Force (Air Forces Cyber)". Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  44. ^ Colin Clark (20 June 2019) Raytheon Wins Air Force F-15, C-130 Cyber Contracts
  45. ^ Mike Hoffman (8 June 2013). "Naval Academy Launches Cyber Operations Major". DefenseTech.org.
  46. ^ DOD News Release 827-09
  47. ^ Navy Stands Up Fleet Cyber Command, Reestablishes U.S. 10th Fleet, NNS100129-24
  48. ^ "Cyber War: Sabotaging the System". CBS News. 6 November 2009.
  49. ^ The Washington Post: Pentagon computers attacked with flash drive[dead link]
  50. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (8 December 2011). "Cyber-intruder sparks response, debate". The Washington Post.
  51. ^ "White House Eyes Cyber Security Plan". CBS News. 9 February 2009.
  52. ^ Warrick, Joby; Pincus, Walter (1 April 2009). "Senate Legislation Would Federalize Cybersecurity". Washingtonpost.com.
  53. ^ Greenwald, Glenn; Gallagher, Ryan (12 March 2014). "How the NSA Plans to Infect 'Millions' of Computers with Malware". The Intercept.
  54. ^ "Pentagon Bill To Fix Cyber Attacks: $100M". CBS News. 7 April 2009.
  55. Blogspot
    . 12 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  56. ^ "Google Attack Is Tip Of Iceberg", McAfee Security Insights, 13 January 2010
  57. ^ "The Joint Operating Environment", Report released, 18 Feb 2010, pp. 34–36
  58. ^ "Home - Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee". hsgac.senate.gov.
  59. ^ Senators Say Cybersecurity Bill Has No 'Kill Switch', informationweek.com, 24 June 2010. Retrieved on 25 June 2010.
  60. ^ "ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2010" (PDF).
  61. ^ Baldor, Lolita C. (19 August 2010). "Pentagon takes aim at China cyber threat". The Boston Globe.
  62. ^ "WSJ: U.S. Backs Talks on Cyber Warfare". Online.wsj.com. 4 June 2010.
  63. ^ Haroon Meer (11 March 2011). "Lessons from Anonymous on cyberwar". Al Jazeera English.
  64. ^ Shane, Scott (26 September 2012). "U.S. Officials Opening Up on Cyberwarfare". The New York Times.
  65. ^ "Chase, NYSE Websites Targeted in Cyber Attacks". Fox Business. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  66. ^ "Phase 2 Operation Ababil". 7 December 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  67. ^ "Bank Attackers Restart Operation Ababil DDoS Disruptions". 6 March 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  68. .
  69. National Archives
    .
  70. National Archives
    .
  71. ^ Michael Riley; Jordan Robertson (27 August 2014). "FBI Examining Whether Russia Is Tied to JPMorgan Hacking". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  72. ^ Jordan Robertson; Michael Riley (3 September 2014). "Computers for Hire Send JPMorgan Data to Russia". Bloomberg. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
  73. ^ Finkle, Jim (29 May 2014). Tiffany Wu (ed.). "Iranian hackers use fake Facebook accounts to spy on U.S., others". Reuters. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  74. ^ Riley, Michael A; Robertson, Jordan (2 December 2014). "Iran-Backed Hackers Target Airports, Carriers: Report". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  75. ^ Finkle, Jim (2 December 2014). Richard Valdmanis, Christian Plumb and W Simon (ed.). "Iran hackers targeted airlines, energy firms: report". Reuters. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
  76. ^ "U.S. Sanctions North Korea Over Sony Hack". Time. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  77. ^ Evans, Stephen (23 December 2014). "Why did North Korea's internet go down?". BBC News. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  78. ^ Atwan, Abdel Bari. Islamic State: The Digital Caliphate. University of California Press.
  79. ^ Barrett, Devlin (5 June 2015). "U.S. Suspects Hackers in China Breached About four (4) Million People's Records, Officials Say". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  80. ^ Risen, Tom (5 June 2015). "China Suspected in Theft of Federal Employee Records". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  81. ^ Sanders, Sam (4 June 2015). "Massive Data Breach Puts 4 Million Federal Employees' Records at Risk". NPR. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  82. ^ a b Department of Defense Law of War (PDF). US Department of Defense. 2015. p. 994. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  83. ^ "ISIS Targeted by Cyberattacks in a New U.S. Line of Combat". NYT. 24 April 2016.
  84. ^ "How The U.S. Hacked ISIS". NPR.org. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  85. ISSN 0190-8286
    . Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  86. ^ "America sanctions Russians for election-meddling and cyber-attacks". The Economist. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  87. ^ "Nine Iranians Charged With Conducting Massive Cyber Theft Campaign on Behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps". 23 March 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  88. ^ "America's government is putting foreign cyber-spies in the dock". The Economist. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  89. ^ Nakashima, Ellen (20 September 2018). "White House authorizes 'offensive cyber operations' to deter foreign adversaries". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  90. ^ Ratnam, Gopal; Donnelly, John M.; Ratnam, Gopal; Donnelly, John M. (16 July 2019). "House demands to see Trump's cyberwarfare directive". Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  91. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  92. . Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  93. ^ "US buries digital land mines to menace Russia's power grid | Energy Central". www.energycentral.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  94. ^ Strobel, Warren P. (11 June 2019). "Bolton Says U.S. Is Expanding Offensive Cyber Operations". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  95. ^ "U.S. Offensive Cyber Operations against Economic Cyber Intrusions: An International Law Analysis - Part I". Just Security. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  96. ^ "US 'launched cyberattacks on Iran weapons' after drone downing". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 8 November 2019.

Further reading