Open-Source Warfare

Terrorists are leveraging information technology to organize, recruit, and learn--and the West is struggling to keep up

On the afternoon of Thursday, 8 April 2004, U.S. troops stationed in Iraq deployed a small remote-controlled robot to search for improvised explosive devices. The robot, a PackBot unit made by iRobot Corp., of Burlington, Mass., found an IED, but the discovery proved its undoing. The IED exploded, reducing the robot to small, twisted pieces of metal, rubber, and wire.
 
The confrontation between robot and bomb reflects a grim paradox of the ongoing conflict in Iraq. The PackBot's destruction may have prevented the IED from claiming a soldier's life--as of 31 August, IEDs accounted for nearly half of the 3299 combat deaths reported by coalition forces. But the fact remains that a US $100 000 piece of machinery was done in by what was probably a few dollars' worth of explosives, most likely triggered using a modified cellphone, a garage-door opener, or even a toy's remote control. During the past four and a half years, the United States and its allies in Iraq have fielded the most advanced and complex weaponry ever developed. But they are still not winning the war.

Although there has been much debate and finger-pointing over the various failures and setbacks suffered during the prolonged conflict, some military analysts and counterterrorism experts say that, at its heart, this war is radically different from previous ones and must be thought of in an entirely new light. Spectrum

Swiss foreign ministry hit by computer attack

GENEVA — Unidentified hackers have penetrated the Swiss foreign ministry's computer system to seize data, forcing parts of it to be shut down for several days, the ministry revealed Monday.

The "professional virus attack" allowed outsiders to gain access to the computer system to obtain unspecified information, the ministry said in a statement.

It said the extent of the data mining was unknown.

"Unknown perpetrators used special software in this attack to reach the ministry's IT infrastructure and to acquire specific information," the statement said.

Government computer technicians and specialists from software giant Microsoft discovered the "well hidden" software on October 22.AFP

Report: China building cyberwarfare capabilities

WASHINGTON – China is building its cyberwarfare capabilities and appears to be using the growing technical abilities to collect U.S. intelligence through a sophisticated and long-term computer attack campaign, according to an independent report.

Released Thursday by a congressional advisory panel, the study found cases suggesting that China's elite hacker community has ties to the Beijing government, although there is little hard evidence.

The commission report details a cyberattack against a U.S. company several years ago that appeared to either originate in or come through China and was similar to other incidents also believed to be connected to the country.
SFGate