Cyber attacks have been successfully employed, enough to be an ominous window of potential threat with hazardous effects in the future. The first wide incident of a cyber assault took place in Estonia in 2007. The incident was provoked by the moving of a bronze soldier memorial marking the burial site for soviet soldiers lost during World War II. Native Estonians saw it as a symbol of both Russian and Nazi occupation, while Russian immigrants, which constitute about 25% of the total population, saw it as a symbol of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.
The controversial move sparked the worst riots the country had ever seen along with a massive DDoS attack by hackers traced back to Russia and likely the Kremlin . Estonia, “one of the most wired societies in the world” saw its Internet infrastructure overwhelmed. Approximately 1 million computers worldwide were used, unknown to their users, to overwhelm the Estonian sites and services. The attack targeted government communications, banks, Internet service providers, newspapers and media, and even home users. Estonia’s financial activity was crippled, as bank websites became unreachable. Emergency lines were knocked out for hours.
The cyber attack shutdown these services not for a few days, but for two weeks.
More recently a warning came on October 11, 2012 from United States Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who aimed for new legislation on capitol hill against cyber terrorism, expressed alarming concern over the potential for cyber attacks. Warning of a “cyber Pearl Harbor,” Panetta stated the attack could be a “cyber-Pearl Harbor that would cause physical destruction and the loss of life, an attack that would paralyze and shock the nation and create a profound new sense of vulnerability.
Penetta’s words help solidify that cyber war is possible and that Estonia may very well be an ominous demonstration of things to come. It clearly represents the threats imposed on wired societies and the capabilities that both countries along with non-state actors may have. As societies around the world continue to become more wired and dependent on cyberspace, the threat of cyber war to possibly take down entire economies will increase undoubtedly posing harsh questions to global governance and international security.