The ‘Human Factor’
When it comes to the origins of the hacker attacks, Herrmann declined comment. Spiegel Online has learned from other sources that some of the malware used in cyberattacks on NATO resemble programs that are known to have been used by Chinese and Russian intelligence service organizations. Alliance experts thus believe that the two countries may be behind the attacks. Just how successful the attacks may have been in pilfering sensitive documents from the alliance is unknown. NATO says that, so far, they only know of the attacks that have been discovered and prevented.
It is clear in SHAPE headquarters just how seriously the dangers of cyberattacks are being taken. At the entrance to the security zone hangs a sign with the current level of conventional danger. Above that is a blinking LED display warning against the opening of attachments on work computers. There are additional signs posted throughout the building. Indeed, the so-called “human factor” is generally considered to be the weakest link when it comes to defending digital networks from cyberattacks. Spyware such as that targeting NATO has repeatedly found success in the past, even in attacks against such agencies as the U.S. Department of Defense.
NATO believes that foreign agencies are hoping their cyberattacks will produce as much classified data as possible, from diplomatic cables to details from countries like Afghanistan where the alliance is active. Officials, however, have also noted a rise in political attacks as well. Early in the air campaign over Libya in the spring of 2011, for example, a NATO website was hacked and the alliance was branded as murderers. The attack, however, was discovered quickly and remedied.
Intellpuke: You can read this article by Spiegel Online journalist Matthias Gebauer, reporting from Mons, Belgium, in context here: http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,829908,00.html
Article source: http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Warfare-And-Malware-NATO-Faced-With-Rising-Flood-Of-Cyber-Attacks-34594.html
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