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Cyber militias are groups of volunteers who are willing and able use cyberattacks in order to achieve a political objective. Distinct from hacktivists and trolls, they
Sometimes quietly, in the background, being encouraged by governments, but they are not really government operations. These are civilian operations
Scott Borg, director and chief economist of the nonprofit US Cyber Consequences Unit has suggested many cyber militias have been animated by ethnonationalism.[1]
However, even an ad-hoc cyber militia that is not under direct state control can be a useful extension of a state’s cyber power.
Cyber militias have been purported to have been used as covers for covert activities by employees of the governments of China, Russia, and Ukraine.[2]
History
edit
Varied accounts of the first cyber militia have been offered. Veteran defense reporter Robert Dudney has suggested that the 1998 cyberattacks by Zapatista's against targets in Mexico and the United States - and in Europe against the Frankfurt Stock Exchange - represented the first attack by a cyber militia.[1]
By country
editEstonia
editOne of the most well-known cases of the employment of cyber militia is Estonia, where volunteer hackers were recruited to respond to cyber-attacks. Those civilian defence corps grew out of the aftermath of a 2007 attack, when banking, government, news and other websites were taken online and the authorities put the blame on Russian operatives. According to experts, the attacks have been one of the worst cases of state-sponsored warfare to date. Although the Estonian cyber militia hackers are mostly civilians, they have been trained to handle this kind of assaults on hospitals, banks and military bases, as well as on, e.g., voting systems. Their commander says that the threat is taken as a given. His militia consists of all kinds of white-hat types, including amateur IT workers, economists, lawyers and so on. Some of their actions include running drills with troops, doctors and air traffic controllers, and gauging officials’ responses to realistic attacks, for example, by sending out e-mails with sketchy links or dropping infected USB sticks. Allegedly, a CD labelled with a picture of Russian porn star in a bathing suit proved very effective bait for military officials. As a result, at present, the country’s military computers turn off after having detected an unknown disc or USB drive. Officially, the militia is part of Estonia’s national guard.[3]
China
editThe collective membership of cyber militias in China has reportedly topped 10 million. In China, these units are believed to provide logistic support and rear area security for active duty PLA Strategic Support Force units. One of the most well-known faces of the Chinese cyber militias are the infamous, popular, nationalism-driven ‘patriotic hackers’[4]
Mexico
editZapatistas
Russia
editAccording to US sources, Russian cyber militias mounted similar attacks on Estonia in 2007 and Kyrgyzstan in 2009. In the latter event, the attack shut down Kyrgyzstan’s two main internet service providers, temporarily eliminating roughly 80 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s bandwidth.[1]
Ukraine
editUnited States
editThe United States has been one of the least aggressive major powers with respect to the use of cyber militias. Select states and national guard units have elected to create indigenous
one of the cyber militia, Missouri National Guard Team, has recently launched a non-profit organization in order to share their network security monitoring system ‘built by cyber warriors for cyber warriors’ [55]. In Ohio, a bill has been introduced that is going to create a civilian cyber militia, the task of which would be to protect the state’s critical government agencies and election systems. If the bill is passed, a new volunteer unit would be created under the authority of the Ohio adjutant general and operate at the same level as National Guard. The Ohio Cyber Reserve would recruit ‘individuals who are interested in improving Ohio’s cyber posture’.[4]
India
editIn India, in 2011, Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal called for a community of ethical hackers to help defend Indian networks. Reportedly, India has been considering using patriotic hackers for offensive operations, too.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c Dudney, Robert S. (February 1, 2011). "Rise of the Cyber Militias". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
- ^ Lewis, James Andrew; Wood, Georgia; Lonergan, Erica D.; Voo, Julia; Garson, Melanie; Ertan, Amy (May 18, 2023). Evolving Cyber Operations and Capabilities (Report). Washington, D.C.: Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
- ^ Pawlicka, Aleksandra; Choraś, Michał; Pawlicki, Marek (2021-10-01). "The stray sheep of cyberspace a.k.a. the actors who claim they break the law for the greater good". Personal and Ubiquitous Computing. 25 (5): 843–852. doi:10.1007/s00779-021-01568-7. ISSN 1617-4917.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Svantesson, Dan (December 8, 2022). "Regulating a 'Cyber Militia' – Lessons from Ukraine, and Thoughts About the Future". Stockholm University. doi:10.2139/ssrn.4296849 – via SSRN.
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