Estonia Suspects Russia of Cyberattack

Death and damage from online assault can result in military response

(NEWSER) - A cyber attack on the United States or its allies can be considered an act of war and result in a military response, says the Pentagon in its first formal document outlining its cyber strategy. The 30-page classified report—unclassified portions of which will be released next month—looks at the changing face of warfare in a time when hackers can do serious damage to a country's infrastructure, reports the Wall Street Journal , which spoke to three defense officials who have read it. More»

Volunteers aid hackers in worsening problem: research

(NEWSER) - In a sort of cyber-censorship, those who disagree with a human rights group have an increasingly easy answer: Hack its website. Hackers are increasingly targeting such groups, researchers find, using DDoS attacks to inundate a website with data in order to shut it down—sometimes for weeks. Between August 2009 and September 2010, 140 such attacks targeted more than 280 sites, and it’s likely to get worse, the Harvard researchers tell the BBC. More»

(NEWSER) - The Georgian blogger who was taken offline in the cyberattack that shut down Twitter on Thursday believes Moscow is the culprit, he tells the Guardian. The economics professor, who goes by the online name Cyxymu, says he believes Russian authorities targeted him with the denial-of-service attack because of his persistent criticism of the country's conduct in its war over the disputed South Ossetia region. More»

(NEWSER) - North Korean hackers have been fingered for the July 4 cyberattack that took down the websites of the Treasury, Secret Service, and other US government agencies, reports the AP. Another cyberattack hit sites in South Korea, including the president's website, and intelligence officials there said today that the North was behind both of the unusually lengthy attacks. Some sites were down as long as three days. More»

Countries dueling plans could prompt new arms race

(NEWSER) - The cold war may be going digital, the New York Times reports, as the US and Russia clash over how to combat attacks in cyberspace. Washington has dismissed Moscow’s call for an international treaty, preferring to promote cross-border cooperation in hunting down hackers. “We really believe it’s defense, defense, defense,” said US official. But Russia worries more about military attacks over the Internet. More»