Friday, June 15, 2007

DAR AL HARB: NATO THINKING OF PROTECTION AGAINST CYBERATTACKS

NATO mulling safety against cyberattacks
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

BRUSSELS — NATO defense ministers are considering extending the alliance's protection into cyberspace in the wake of a devastating digital attack that nearly crippled member nation Estonia.

Defense ministers agreed "urgent work is needed to enhance the ability to protect information systems of critical importance," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said Thursday.

NATO will begin examining how it may protect its 26 member states from electronic attacks like the one in Estonia, Appathurai said during a meeting of the ministers.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and a number of the other officials have backed the move. No final decision has been reached on anything beyond studying the issue.

The issue is tricky for NATO. The attacks on Estonia were launched against public cyberspace that controls banking, e-mail and other functions and not the country's military command and control system. The attacks, which began in April and peaked last month, were launched from computers in about 50 countries, NATO spokesman Robert Pszczel said.

The alliance, a product of the Cold War, is based largely on the notion that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

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Pertinent Links:

1) NATO mulling safety against cyberattacks

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