{"id":427,"date":"2012-03-07T18:20:16","date_gmt":"2012-03-08T00:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hammerheadcombatsystems.org\/?p=427"},"modified":"2012-03-07T18:20:16","modified_gmt":"2012-03-08T00:20:16","slug":"malware-cyber-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/2012\/03\/07\/malware-cyber-warfare\/","title":{"rendered":"Malware & Cyber Warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"
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by<\/div>\n
HCS Technical Staff<\/div>\n
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How is it done?<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Offensive computer attacks are usually\u00a0conducted by exploiting flaws in a computer web interface (most often a “login screen”)\u00a0or surreptitiously installing\u00a0malicious software (“malware”) on targeted computers to produce a number of effects on the computer system or devices that it controls.<\/div>\n
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How does it happen?<\/strong><\/div>\n
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In the broadest sense, human error is what leads to successful\u00a0computer attacks.\u00a0A computer running an\u00a0unpatched legacy operating system, using\u00a0an unpatched\u00a0legacy web browser to view shady sites, opening the attachment on a weird email,\u00a0a poorly designed\u00a0web-facing login screen, unencrypted wireless transmissions,\u00a0or\u00a0lax enforcement of a security policy in a building are the most common examples of human error.<\/div>\n
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How does it impact relationships between nation-states?<\/strong><\/div>\n
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It provides an indirect means for nation-states to wage deniable\u00a0proxy war against rival nation states. The best example of this is the Stuxnet worm attack on the Iranian government’s nuclear program. There is also the\u00a0element of “mutually assured destruction” in cyberwarfare that would impact how\u00a0major world powers like the United States, Russia, and China deploy\u00a0offensive cyberwarfare capabilities. I would not be surprised to see treaties\u00a0between major nation-states (like the United States, Russia, or China) that could\u00a0function as a sort of “Geneva Convention”<\/div>\n
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What threat does it pose to me as a civilian?<\/strong><\/div>\n
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The biggest cyber threats to a civilian are:<\/div>\n