Running Head: CYBER SECURITY THREATS & CHALLENGES
Cyber Security Threats & Challenges
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Table of Contents
Abstract 1
Introduction 3
Cyber security culture in Africa and Middle East 3
Role of international organizations (NATO & UN) 5
Research and training 6
Conclusion/Recommendations 6
References 9
Abstract
Cyber crime has become a very hot topic in today’s Information technology world. Countries across the globe are finding ways to tackle this emerging crime; new softwares and intrusions detection systems are being developed every day to counter cyber terrorism. Many countries in the world have gained and many have lost their critical information in cyber attacks. Credit card fraud, information system breakage, spreading virus using e-mails, spam’s and espionages have become very common issues by the day due to the advancement in technology and less stringent rules and regulations in this specific area. International organization have come together to find solution to these emerging problems but greater responsibility lies on the shoulder of the respective countries. In coming times, this lethal weapon might be more disastrous than any other weapon. Although physical damages are almost none from this weapon but it can paralyze country in seconds and has the ability to damage critical database, information and security system which can leave country in catastrophe. Few countries are making serious efforts to address this issue while some have deliberately turned a blind eye which encourages cyber criminals to launch attacks on others.
Introduction
Cyber security issue has gained widespread attention in last couple of decades. It is mainly due to some weak legislation and fatal consequences of misuse of cyber space. Many countries like Georgia, Estonia, Iran, USA and few European countries have suffered losses because of cyber crimes. Due to its emerging importance, countries globally are becoming aware of its damages, impact on critical information databases and its consequences on international relations (US CERT, 2011).
Cyber security has increasingly become a threat to national security and peace of the world. It is evident from the fact that some cultures in the world does give pride to cyber criminals and few governments deliberately turn a blind eye which encourages crime criminals to conduct illegal acts. Few countries such as Russia, China, India and Iran are considered threat to cyber security; reasons and causes of which will be discussed in the coming paragraphs but major cause all over the world is lack of education, weak regulations, cultural pride and unemployment. In this analysis, we will also highlight the efforts of African and Middle Eastern countries in combating cyber crime. We will also analyze the root causes, cultural factors, policy issues, ethical standards and, towards the end, some recommendations supporting the point of view.
Cyber security culture in Africa and Middle East
All over the world, Africa is considered a region which promotes cyber crime, there are several reasons of this behavior, and some of them are as follows.
• Lack of knowledge of IT in majority of the population.
• Absence of strict rules and regulations.
• Lack of awareness of cyber security issues at national level.
• Less government focus towards anti cyber crime.
• High level of unemployment especially for intellectuals and talented people.
Many countries joined their hands to eradicate cyber crime attempts from Africa by bringing peace and prosperity in African Region but their efforts have not materialized yet. Conference with the title of “Step towards safe African Cyberspace” was held but all efforts went in vein. Conference was aimed at bringing cyber security best practices and cooperation for safe cyber space for all (Securiti, 2011).
Middle Eastern countries almost pose the same level of threat to the rest of the world; Iran is one of the examples. Recent cyber war between Iran and Israel caused millions of dollar loss to both countries, but this war is further fueled by counter attacks on each others. According to the story published in New York Times, virus with the name of “stuxnet” was launched from Israel to destroy the centrifuges of Iran (Flanagan, 2011).
In Iranian culture, USA and Israel are considered its strong opponents, so using cybercrime against USA is not considered crime in Iran. Several sanctions have been imposed on Iran which have further fueled the agony of Iran. It is also a fact that some countries in the region such as Russian and China have intentionally turned a blind eyes to cyber crimes, or in other words allow its citizens to freely conduct criminal activities. For example, Russia and China are considered haven of cybercrime, their government are aware of this fact but still very less has been done by these countries to combat cyber crime in the region (Securiti, 2011).
According to one of the senior analyst Ghulam Reza, series of attacks were made against Iran’s nuclear program. Although Iran has developed cyber defense mechanism but attacks were very severe that destroyed many of the centrifuges systems (Sasso, 2012).
African Initiatives to combat cyber crime
With the help of NATO and other international participants, African region and Middle-Eastern region are working hard on following agenda points in order to mitigate cyber crime incidences.
• Legislations for cybercrimes are reviewed from scratch.
• Teams such as Computer Emergency Response Team are being developed to counter crimes.
• Development in Higher Education sector is being taking place.
• Identity loss/theft Legislation is also underway.
• Information System Certification is also arranged.
• Strict laws for cybercrimes are under developing phase.
Role of international organizations (NATO & UN)
Finally NATO took a notice of rising cyber crime attempts and decided to form a committee to devise policies for cyber defense. In year 2011, Defense minister of NATO devised policy which caters defense mechanism, cyber space usage principles, cyber crime monitoring tools and mechanism to counter crime.
In Feb 2012, with budget 58 million euro, unit with the name of NATO cyber incident response capability (NCIRC) was set up to implement policy in the member countries and to ensure that all member countries work according to the action plan.
NATO’s committee started working effectively in year 2007 after Estonia attacked Georgia. NATO decided that it’s a right time to grab this issue and take measures to stop this. NATO’s efforts are commendable but unfortunately high level of efforts are still required by all the countries to eradicate this evil, alone NATO can’t rectify this giant issue as causes of the crime are widespread.
Research and training
As per the agreement in the meeting of NATO on protection of African cyber space, it was finalized that NATO sponsored programs which would be conducted to increase awareness level of computer system users so that they could better tackle crimes. In year 2008, Cooperative cyber defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCoE) of NATO conducted training of cyber defense which was attended by more than 30 participant’s majority of whom were from Africa.
African region has several other issues which don’t allow government to focus on other issues such as dearth, poverty, unemployment, HIV aids and lack of education. These issues are so widespread and basic that government cannot afford to divert its attention to other important issues such as cyber space protection (NATO, 2011) .
Conclusion/Recommendations
Earlier cyber war was considered as fabricated step to launch war against each other but time has proven its authenticity. It is really an emerging giant which could have lethal effects on all the countries in the world. It’s a fact that its effects in terms of physical destruction are not that fatal as of mass destruction weapons or instruments but it could really destroy the critical information database of the country in no time leaving it totally paralyzed. Although international organizations are working on devising policies, rules and regulations but a lot more has to be done by the countries themselves because NATO/UN can’t cover all the aspects easily. Countries have to design self accountability measures and policies in order to combat cyber crime in the country. Countries independently have to review their cultural, ethical and security standards in order to have a peaceful world for everyone. Despite knowing the increased level of cyber crime in the country, few countries have turned a blind eye to this issue which ultimately promotes these activities. International organizations should convince these countries to mitigate this risk because it affects others as well. There are many countries in African region which exist without any formal security policy for information system. Their principles whether it be ethical, moral or cultural are quite weak. Huge funding has been routed through these countries for the development but majority of these funds was embezzled. Special task force by United Nation and NATO has to be made specifically for these countries and rather than giving money, education and technology should be imparted. The only way cyber crime issue could be tackled is through devising strict policies for cyber space usage, and raising sanctions against countries involved in this activity otherwise it would become very difficult to control it. Anti cyber crime force should be made by the international agencies to combat crime.
On the other hand, Middle Eastern region has low level of education and relaxed rules for cyberspace. This raises concerns about information security and cyber space usage. Cold war between Iran and USA is also one of the reasons of increased attacks from Middle East on Israel and vice versa. It’s a right time for all international players to sit together and lay down standards to operate in the cyber world with regard to security and ethics. Otherwise, destructions such as of Georgia in year 2008, Iran in 2011 would invoke international cyber war.
References
Flanagan, B. (2011, Dec 15). Former CIA chief Spokes out on Iran Stuxnet Attack. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from The National: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/industry-insights/technology/former-cia-chief-speaks-out-on-iran-stuxnet-attack
Government, U. (2011, Feb 12). US CERT. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from United States Computer Emergency reading Team: http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/
NATO. (2011). Defending agasint Cyber attacks. France: Europal.
Robertson, J. (2011, Feb 13). Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from Bloomberg Businessweek: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-05-30/iran-gets-flamed-in-a-new-cyberattack
Sasso, B. (2012, June 10). Computer attack on Iran nuclear program adds urgency to cybersecurity efforts. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from The Hill: http://thehill.com/hillicon-valley/technology/231933-computer-attack-on-iran-adds-urgency-to-cybersecurity-efforts
Securiti, C. D. (2011, July 19). Cyber Conference. Retrieved July 13, 2012, from Cyber Conference: http://www.afcybersec.org/en/?cs=present