Monday, April 03, 2017
Was it cyberwar?
One of the Wikileaks writers cites the USA sabotage of Russian pipelines in the '80s as the first instance of cyberwarfare.
Not a good attribution. Misses the definition both ways.
In the widest definition, cyberwar is as old as life. Messing with the enemy's mind began with bacteria and has grown more complex with every new stage of life. Winning armies have always used multiple layers of deception, often hiring magicians for specialist advice.
The specific and distinctive feature of modern cyberwar is remote-controlled sabotage, which is only possible with an electrical network or radio waves. Modern cyberwar could have started in WW1 with false commands to early radio-controlled drones, but there's no indication that it was tried. The first definite use was in WW2 with jamming and faking of radar and LORAN guidance signals. This mode continues with faking of GPS.
Our sabotage of Russian pipelines wasn't remote-controlled. It was a much older trick, directly placing bad tools into the enemy's hands. Russia made the (unusual!) mistake of buying pipeline control systems from American oil service companies, and CIA miscalibrated the measurement tools resulting in explosions. This falls into the same category as selling the enemy rifles with defective scopes, or tanks with timebombs. Not specific cyberwar.
If Russia had stuck to its hard-earned sufficiency and sovereignty, our sabotage would have been impossible.
Broader conclusion as fucking always: If you want security, don't use digital controls connected to the Web or radio. Stick with analog devices, preferably non-electric, and MAKE YOUR OWN STUFF.
Labels: defensible spaces
¶ 6:13 AM
