#Competitive Intelligence report on Cyberwarfare with respect to Pakistan

Cyberwarfare which is known-ed to be the actions by a nation-state to penetrate another nation’s computers or networks for the purposes of causing damage or disruption.

Cyber  warfare  is a  relatively  new  concept  whereby  politically  motivated  hackers  and Computer  scientists  develop  means  of  causing  disruption  or  damage  to  a  government’s  IT  system  and  network  infrastructure. There  are  various  techniques  that  fall  under cyber-warfare  such  as a  virus  or  malicious  software  (most  recent  examples  would  be  stuxnet  and  Duqu)  or  web  vandalism.    The  constant  developments  in  the  IT  world  inevitably  lead to  an  increasing  occurrence  of  cyber  warfare.    This raises  the  question  as  to  whether  it  is  more  dangerous  as  opposed  to  traditional  warfare.

Cyber  warfare  also  puts a  large  amount  of  focus  on  espionage. Spy  weapons  and technologies  are  advancing  at  a  rapid  pace,  allowing  individuals  to  gain  private  and  restricted  information  without  leaving  a  trace.    Again,  this  breach  of  privacy  is undeniably  dangerous  to  both  the  government  and  its  citizens.    Further more,  the  cost  of these  cyber  weapons  are  low  which  means  increased  accessibility.  Hackers  can  also develop  their  own  software  and  hardware  at  home  using  ready-made  items,  so  long  as they  have  a  very  in depth  IT  knowledge.  The  availability  of  such  information on  the Internet  also  makes  cyber  warfare  a  dangerous  threat.

the  malicious  software  can  be  used  to  physically  control  the  infrastructure.   It  could  be  used  to  stop  any  means  of  communication  between  government  officials  through  the  network.    Also,  examples  from  real  life  include  the Stuxnet  and  Duqu  viruses  which  are  similar  in  nature  and  purpose.    Once  installed in  the  industrial  control  system  such  as  power  plants,  chemical  stations,  oil  refineries  and  water  treatment  facilities,  the  hackers  can  then  control  the  processes  remotely.    They  can  damage  or  even  destroy  the  infrastructure  which  is  obviously  dangerous  for  the  citizens.

Well, Pakistan is in combat with India on Cyber Space, We did not find any significant force that has been seen in war with India but a very strong hactivisim is in action against India to defense Cyber Space. The most dangerous tools are cyber-weapons and the most dangerous hands are hacktivists. But it is far to reliase how Pakistan can identify who is who and who is under control. As a front-line state in terrorism, Pakistan may face Cyberterrirorism impact after non state elements fail in conventional war. Talent is IT is not long big deal for Pakistanis. It is necessary to control the new IT research and Cyber Security research from the academic Institutions and put them in publically owned research centers in order to get better and competitive results and advantages over CyberWar rivals. This shall increase in cyber warfare tools development, research and counter-competitive Intelligence in order to determine the strength in Cyber Space. 

Cyberterrorism is the premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs, and data which result in violence against non combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents. This definition is necessarily narrow. For the term “cyberterrorism” to have any meaning, we must be able to differentiate it from other kinds of computer abuse such as computer crime, economic espionage, or information warfare. “cyberterrorism” is problematic, because it is often difficult to determine the intent, identity, or the political motivations of a computer attacker with any certainty until long after the event has occurred.

The Stuxnet code, the cyber espionage alleged to originate in China, and the attacks to Estonia and Georgia have been widely reported as examples of cyber-terrorism and possible acts of cyber war . Profound investigations of the incidents could prove neither an authorship of a sovereign state nor serious harm as a consequence of the attacks. This is one of the most fundamental problems:  In the relative anonymity and complexity of the Internet and the ability to cross international borders and jurisdictions with impunity, it is very difficult to know exactly who is behind the attacks and their exact motive. 

There should be at least on Cyber research center every university in order to get / code cyber warfare tools keep an eye on enemy instead limited private centers under foreign NGOs funds that may sell software (cyber tools) like Trojan, FUD (Fully UnDetectable), Zero Days (Undiscovered Vulnerabilities) and Exploits etc. These software can be accessed by terrorists and especially anti-state element can use them and it can cause Cyberterrism in the country. Pakistan must not ignore to competitive advantages in IT industry with India. India has huge IT infrastructure built by foreign Investment and is in global trade with global giants like IBM, Microsoft etc. There are a number of modern technologies being used as Cyber Warfare like " Competitive Intelligence and Tools" , EMP (ElectroMeganic Pulse) and Cloud Computing which embedded as socially data management technology. Some techniques are too dangerous to use like war dialing which is used to exploring, classifying, and auditing phone systems and this all the way can go to systems like Railways, Air Traffic and other communication system. DOS/DDOS, MiTM, Phishing, MSF, GPS/Wifi Hacking techniques are being used by modern warding warfare. Spoffing GPS system on board the drone, a technique that involves mimicking the actual signals sent to the global positioning device and then eventually tricking the target into following a new set of commands provided plane is set to autopilot under the condition of access violation. There are hundreds and thousands of tools designed for these attacks that may led to Nuclear Plant distractions. Iran and US have been faced for their Nuclear Plants. There are many things to tell related to warfare. I would like to to spot light on modern technologies like " EMP, Cloud Computing and Competitive Intelligence. 

As Pakistan has zero Institute that handles courses and trainings related to "Competitive Intelligence" technology that is used for Cyber Warfare management, Economic and social  warfare management training and tools. It is combine new research and human resources in order to get targeted result with quick and efficient way. A competitive Intelligence manager can  use Competitor Response Modeling to Forecast Potential Competitor Actions Accurately, to Build an Early Warning System to Harness Predictability and Win in the Cyber Space etc. Through Competitive Intelligence it is possible to control over Black Hats (Un-Ethical/ Illegal Hacker), Grey Hats ( black hats under legal cover) , So-cider ( state level war dialer) and White Hats ( Ethical Hacker) and use them for positive and creative purposes. 

EMP (ElectroMeganic Pulse) is kind of Cyber warfare is being used by US, Russia and Israel. The effects of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack in the form of high-altitude nuclear weapons and geomagnetic disturbances (GMD) from coronal mass ejections. A number of company has been  warned for their critical electric infrastructure operations that cyber attacks are being launched with the intent to gain remote access to control systems and commit sabotage. Cyber attacks against the private sector have historically been categorized as “criminal,” with theft (intellectual or financial) believed to have been the main goal; but with this fast-paced increase in incidents and obvious adversarial intent and attitudes. This could create a fatal attack on any complex or critical electrical/ electronics infrastructure by new exploits and vulnerabilities. 

Cloud Computing is new branch of Information Technology led by new techniques to make maximum utilization of IT/ ICT infrastructure with minimum time and resources (human, equipments, cost). There are many types of it being categorized as Public, Private and hybrid etc. This is sort of centralization of infrastructure, resources, data and services through web(virtualization). This is like email server and data centers where millions of users accounts being managed by a single or multiple platforms. Now you can manage data, resources, services and infrastructure at one platform like banks provide a lot of services. Unfortunately if bank's is hacked or security breach may result millions of customers data and information on risk. Same Goes to Cloud Computing industries, if cloud platform hacked or security compromised then it will cause unpredictable damages with respect to privacy, financial benefits etc. This is also being used as the best resources tool for Cyber warfare like espionage etc, that may reveal passwords, messages and other personal information that may use in conventional war as well. 

Cyber Warfare mostly depends upon internet flow like what protocols take what messages , what is their purposes and where do they use? If we check out , it is not possible to identified about internet traffic contents, carriers etc. All protocols that are being used introduced by vendors of devices we use. All these protocols are standardized and coded by American and EU only. Some times encryption is unknown or undetectable and may work for rivals on internet as backdoor, Trojan or spyware etc. It is recommend to create research centers specially for Cyber Security and Telecom to code best software like IDS, Firewall, protocols along with device in order to delivery better in Cyber Space.

By

Ziaullah Mirza
Please follow me for more information / question
https://twitter.com/ziaullah699
https://www.facebook.com/ziaullah699