A Brief History Of Cyber-Deterrence
Since 2014 the pace of cyberwar between nation states, attack, counterattack and reprisal has been speeding up. The US government and others have made various attempts to stop hacking attacks by countries including Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, with mixed results.
Here is a timeline of the principal events.
May 2014
A grand jury indicted five Chinese military hackers for computer hacking, economic espionage, and other offences directed at companies in the US nuclear power, metals, and solar energy industries. This was the first time charges were levelled at state-sponsored hackers for economic espionage.
"For too long, the Chinese government has blatantly sought to use cyber espionage to obtain economic advantage for its state-owned industries," said then-FBI Director James Comey.
December 2014
Internet service in North Korea is disrupted shortly after President Obama said the US would respond to North Korea's attack on Sony Pictures "in a place and time and manner that we choose.
" If this was a US attack, it would be the first publicly known retaliation by the US against a cyberattack.
January 2015
US government imposes sanctions on North Korea following its "destructive, coercive cyber-related actions during November and December 2014." This is the first time sanctions are used to respond to a cyberattack.
April 2015
President Obama declares a national emergency to deal with cyberattacks, saying:
"The increasing prevalence and severity of malicious cyber-enabled activities originating from, or directed by persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
The executive order authorises a set of new sanctions against individuals or groups whose cyberattacks result in significant threats to the US, and gives authorities the power to freeze assets or apply sanctions against companies that knowingly use stolen trade secrets.
September 2015
Agreement on commercial cyber-espionage. President Obama and China's President Xi Jinping agree that "neither country's government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors."
March 2016
Charges are announced against seven Iranians for conducting a coordinated campaign of DDoS attacks against 46 companies, mostly in the US financial sector, from late 2011 through mid-2013. One man was also charged with gaining unauthorized access into the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems of the Bowman Dam, in Rye, NY, in August and September of 2013.
December 2016
US places sanctions on Russia over election meddling.
"Russia's cyber activities were intended to influence the election, erode faith in US democratic institutions, sow doubt about the integrity of our electoral process, and undermine confidence in the institutions of the US government. These actions are unacceptable and will not be tolerated," the White House said. The April 2015 executive order is extended to authorise sanctions against those who:
"Tamper with, alter, or cause a miss-appropriation of information with the purpose or effect of interfering with or undermining election processes or institutions."
February 2017
The Department of Defense's Defense Science Board Task Force on Cyber Deterrence warns: "It is clear that a more proactive and systematic approach to U.S. cyber-deterrence is urgently needed."
March 2017
The national emergency is extended. "The President believes that the significant cyber-enabled activities continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to our national security and economic prosperity, and therefore he has determined that it was necessary to continue this national emergency," said then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer.
November 2017
Three Chinese nationals are indicted for computer hacking, theft of trade secrets, conspiracy, and identity theft directed at US and foreign employees and computers of three corporate victims in the financial, engineering, and technology industries between 2011 and May 2017.
December 2017
The US National Security Strategy says the country will "impose swift and costly consequences on foreign governments, criminals, and other actors who undertake significant malicious cyber activities." It adds: "We will also invest in capabilities that improve the ability of the United States to attribute cyber-attacks."
February 2018
The US and the UK blame Russia for NotPetya ransomware, saying: "It was part of the Kremlin's ongoing effort to destabilize Ukraine and demonstrates ever more clearly Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict. This was also a reckless and indiscriminate cyber-attack that will be met with international consequences."
March 2018
More US sanctions on Russia following election meddling and NotPetya. "The Administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyberattacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
March 2018
The US Department of Justice charges nine Iranians with conducting a massive cyber theft campaign, stealing more that 31 terabytes of documents and data from more than 140 American universities and 30 American companies.
March 2018
Cyber state of emergency extended again. "Significant malicious cyber-enabled activities originating from or directed by persons located, in whole or in substantial part, outside the United States continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," says President Trump.
April 2018
The US, the UK, and more accuse Russia of hacking into networks. "We have high confidence that Russia has carried out a coordinated campaign to gain access to enterprise, small office, home office routers known as SOHO routers and residential routers, and the switches and connectors worldwide," said Rob Joyce, White House cybersecurity coordinator.
May 2018
The US State Department publishes a document on cyber-deterrence that warns "Strategies for deterring malicious cyber activities require a fundamental rethinking."
June 2018
The US Treasury Department announces further sanctions against five Russian companies and three individuals, part of its attempt to tackle "Russia's malign and destabilising cyber activities."
The Treasury said the sanctions targeted Russia's cyber and underwater capabilities, and said "Russia has been active in tracking undersea communication cables, which carry the bulk of the world's telecommunications data."
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