Cyber Warfare Needs Rules Of Engagement

'I think all of us would agree that cyber space is the new battle space'

OpenWorld Former intelligence leaders have called for international terms of engagement in cyber warfare and greater collaboration between the public and private sectors to defend critical infrastructure.

The comments came at a security-focused keynote at this year's Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco, where, instead of the usual parade of enthusiastic customers, co-CEO Mark Hurd took to the stage with three former spies.

John Scarlett, who led the UK's MI6 between 2004 and 2009, said that when it came to cyber-attacks, there was “no sense of the rules of the game” and no international or legal structure. 

This lack of terms of engagement was central to the reemergence of the great tension and rivalry between different actors, he told the audience today.

However, he conceded that it is “hard to see how they [rules of engagement] can be developed and agreed on,” and questionable whether any state would trust the various sides to implement them honestly.

“We have to get our brains thinking differently,” Scarlett said, arguing that the old way of thinking about attacks and defense didn’t translate into cyber threats.

The long-expected Cyber Pearl Harbor

His comments came in response to Hurd’s opening question, which asked what a “9/11 cyber-attack” would look like, a term that the Brit spy said that he was “wary” of using.

Similarly, former head of US homeland security Jeh Johnson said that the term was “rather provocative”, while pointing out that it could sometimes take years to assess the full impact of a cyber-attack.

That said, he did suggest that the impact that Russian interference in the 2016 US elections had on democracy could be as significant as the terrorist attacks in New York.

Johnson said that the open, free society in the US, and the access to it via the Internet, was both the nation’s greatest strength and a major vulnerability.

“I think all of us would agree that cyber space is the new battle space,” he said, adding that the best form of defense in this respect was a good offense, and that this should be a national and international priority for both governments and industry.

“We need to do a better job of public-private partnerships on defense of cyber space and our critical infrastructure,” he said.

Meanwhile, Michael Hayden, who has led both the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency, said that the answers will not be obvious, and that the rapid pace of technological development can lead to changing definitions on what constitutes security.

For instance, Hayden said that he had come down on the side of Apple in the battle between it and the feds seeking to break the encryption on the San Bernadino killer’s iPhone.

This was not on privacy grounds, or on commercial grounds, he said, but “on a broader definition of security”. Law enforcement’s requests were legitimate, he said, but “the costs of conceding exception access outweighed the benefits” in this case.

Flexibility and Possible Fixes

Hayden emphasised that this wasn’t about setting one hard and fast rule, as different factors might warrant a different decision; rather he urged a discussion of the balance of privacy, security, freedom and liberty.

Oracle has spent its annual gabfest touting the security credentials of its autonomous database and “second-generation” cloud infrastructure, and the decision to bring the three former intelligence bosses on stage also comes as it is eyeing up the Pentagon’s $10bn JEDI cloud contract.

And so it could hardly miss the opportunity to give its technology a plug, no matter how painfully orchestrated it was to have Big Red’s chief corporate architect Edward Screven sitting alongside the former spies, ready to big-up his firm’s new tech.

The session ended with the more cynical members of the audience rolling their eyes as Screven opined that there was “no such thing as a civilian” in cyber warfare now, all IT professionals are on the “cyber battlefield”, but, with the technology Oracle has developed, “we can be much more effective at defending that threat”. 

The Register:

You Might Also Read:

Why Has The US Not Been Hit With A Devastating Cyber Attack?

« Australia And NZ Announce Joint Pacific Cyber Cooperation
Stuxnet 2.0 - Iran Says Israel Has Launched New Cyber Attacks »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Check Point

Directory of Suppliers

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout enables cyber security professionals to reduce cyber risk to their organization with proactive security solutions, providing immediate improvement in security posture and ROI.

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

Authentic8

Authentic8

Authentic8 transforms how organizations secure and control the use of the web with Silo, its patented cloud browser.

Exodus Intelligence

Exodus Intelligence

Exodus Intelligence are an industry leading provider of exclusive zero-day vulnerability intelligence, exploits, defensive guidance, and vulnerability research trends.

edgescan

edgescan

edgescan is a cloud-based continuous vulnerability management and penetration testing solution.

Trapezoid

Trapezoid

Trapezoid is a cybersecurity company developing Firmware Integrity Management solutions designed to detect unauthorized changes to firmware & BIOS across the entire data center infrastructure.

Asseco Group

Asseco Group

Asseco Poland stands at the forefront of the multinational Asseco Group. We are a leading provider of state-of-the-art IT solutions in Central and Eastern Europe.

Proteus

Proteus

Proteus is an Information Security consulting firm specialized in Risk Analysis and Executive Control.

IDnow

IDnow

IDnow is the world’s fastest, most flexible and most secure identity verification platform, delivering instant verification of the identity documents used by 7 billion people.

Clari5

Clari5

Clari5 redefines real-time, cross channel banking Enterprise Fraud Management using a central nervous system approach to fight financial crime.

Brace168

Brace168

Specialising in Cyber Security incident identification and response, Brace168 is uniquely positioned to provide a vast experience in managed security services to meet the needs of all business types.

AnaVation

AnaVation

AnaVation is a trusted partner delivering high-value, cost-effective solutions that solve the most complex technical and analytical problems for our customers.

Sydeco

Sydeco

Sydeco offer a complete range of products that secure computer and industrial networks, servers, programs and data against any type of computer attack.

Nine23

Nine23

Nine23 are a highly focused cyber security solutions company that defines, builds and manages innovative services, enabling end-users to use technology securely in today’s workplace.

The PenTesting Company

The PenTesting Company

The PenTesting Company is owned and operated by offensive security professionals. Penetration Testing is essentially all we do.

Techsolidity

Techsolidity

Techsolidity is an emerging e-learning platform that offers a wide range of upskilling programs worldwide in areas including cybersecurity.

CyberKinetics

CyberKinetics

CyberKinetics specializes in cloud-based services and solutions for federal agencies and commercial clients with compliance mandates.

C5 Technology

C5 Technology

C5 Technology specialises in the provision of networking, security, and infrastructure services to enterprises and government agencies.

Tundra Managed Solutions

Tundra Managed Solutions

Tundra Managed Solutions is a comprehensive IT services division offering a wide range of managed solutions designed to meet the diverse needs of businesses.