Sounds of Gunfire in Today’s Cyberwar

While the world watches the WikiLeaks saga play out, a new war has erupted in cyberspace.

This week news about WikiLeaks itself was just as sensational as news about the diplomatic communiqués it leaked. The latest news follows a cyber war launched in connection with the WikiLeaks drama, as hackers responded to Assange’s arrest in the U.K. on Swedish charges of rape and sexual molestation. Over the past few days, these “hacktivists” have begun attacking large corporations, banks and even government bureaus. Amazon, Mastercard, Visa and other multinational corporations have come under attack by these hackers who have organized to defend WikiLeaks and support its founder, Julian Assange. In the words of a “spokesman” speaking for the broader movement: “This attack has only just begun, and it will continue as long as WikiLeaks is threatened.”

An Army of Fellow Hackers

Is this a sign that a long-feared worldwide cyber war is on the verge of breaking loose? No doubt the mobilization of this movement of fellow hackers bent on attacking all groups they view as an enemy threatening WikiLeaks should not be taken lightly.

This army of volunteers has named its operation “Payback.” The goal is to take revenge on groups that seek to weaken or marginalize WikiLeaks. For example, banks that no longer offer their services for facilitating WikiLeaks donations have now become an open target. The same applies to official and private actors that are trying to disrupt WikiLeaks’ Internet activity and silence Assange.

After his arrest, Assange announced that his being imprisoned is not going to be an obstacle to the continued release of American diplomatic cables, and that in the event that the current site is shut down, the operations will continue on other sites. In saying this, Assange seemed certain he could count on the support of thousands of volunteers to join in his fight. WikiLeaks has become a powerful symbol for the “hacktivists,” and Assange is their hero. Call it anarchism or idealism, there is no question that these hackers are determined to attack any organization they deem as their enemy.

This isn’t a movie — it’s real.

This war is different from any we’ve seen in the past: The soldiers can be anywhere on earth. It is being waged over communication and information channels. The targets range from the government to private companies and other groups. In this war classic military and political methods no longer apply. Security measures no longer apply against this sort of threat.

As we wrote last week, there are both good and bad aspects to WikiLeaks’ operations. But whatever the reason, seeing the world fall into a growing cyber war is both dangerous and frightening. These things aren’t just happening in the movies anymore — we are beginning to see them in real life.