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Vladimir Golubev, Ph.D.,
As the criminal -
legal phenomenon, terrorism has the international character and according to a
line of the international documents, it concerns to number of the international
crimes. To the full it is distributed to new forms of his display - a
cyberterrorism or electronic terrorism. The analysis of world tendencies of
electronic terrorism development allows predicting, that its threat every year
will grow.
Technical progress develops so promptly, that some its consequences are realized by a society too late, when for correction of a situation significant efforts are required already. There is even an opinion, that at transition of some critical point, the progress starts to work already on mankind destruction. Such situation has developed, for example, with ecology and, unfortunately, develops in the field of information technologies.
The number of Internet users grows constantly.
There are 158 million in USA, ninety-five - in Europe, 90 - in Asia, - fourteen
- in Latin America, and three - in Africa. In Russia, by different ratings, the
quantity of Internet users is made from 3,5 up to 8 million.
Today it is
possible to speak, that the Internet covers all countries of the world, as with
application of new technologies (use of mobile satellite devices of
communication) connection to the Internet from any point of globe is possible.
If to speak about the developed infrastructure in such context the Internet
covers today more than 150 countries of the world.
Introduction of
modern information technologies, has resulted, to occurrence of new kinds of
crimes, such as computer criminality and computer terrorism - the illegal intervention
in job of computers, systems and computer networks, plunder, assignment,
extortion of the computer information).
The cyberterrorism
is a new form of terrorism, which uses computers and electronic networks,
modern information technologies for achievement of the terrorist purposes [1].
On the mechanism, ways of fulfillment and concealment computer crimes have the
certain specificity, are characterized by a high level of latent and a low
level of disclosing.
According to
experts of the Council of Europe, only swindles with credit cards carry away
annually about 400 million dollars. Losses from viruses make about 12 billion,
and infringement of the property rights damages in 250 billion dollars.
The novelty of the
arisen problems has caught napping law enforcement bodies, which appeared not
ready to an adequate opposition and struggle against this new social - legal
phenomenon. Today the problem of computer criminality and a cyberterrorism has
left sphere of the control of law enforcement bodies and threatens to develop
in a serious state and international problem.
From the point of
view of national safety of Ukraine in this area there is the dangerous tendency
connected to increase of technical and technological dependence of our state.
The domestic production of competitive means of information and communication
practically does not develop. Information both state, and commercial structures
is carried out basically on the basis of foreign technology and computer
techniques. There is no sufficient state support of fundamental and applied
domestic researches in sphere of the prevention of struggle with
cybercriminality that does not allow our state to join in world information
system on an equal in rights basis.
Especially sharply
the question of maintenance of information safety, rises in a context of occurrence transnational computer
criminality and a cyberterrorism.
Clause 258 of the
Criminal code of Ukraine (Act of terrorism) [2] contains a number of norms,
which provide the criminal liability for fulfillment of act of terrorism. This
clause formulates act of terrorism as application of the weapon, fulfillment of
explosion, an arson or other actions which create danger to a life and health
of people, causing of significant property harm or approach of other heavy
consequences if such actions have been made with the purpose of infringement of
public safety, intimidation of the population, provocation of the military
conflict, the international complication, or with the purpose of influence on
decision-making, fulfillment or not fulfillment of actions by bodies of the
government or institutions of local government, service persons of these
bodies, associations of citizens, juridical person or attraction of the public attention to certain
political, religious or other sights of the terrorist, and also threat of
fulfillment of the specified actions with that purpose.
Proceeding from a
disposition of considered clause, it is possible to offer the following
formulation of the term "cyberterrorism". Under computer terrorism
(cyberterrorism), it is necessary to understand deliberate, politically
motivated attack to the information processable by a computer, computer system
and networks which creates danger to a life or health of people or approaches
of other heavy consequences if such actions have been accomplished with the
purpose of infringement of public safety, intimidations of the population,
provocation of the military conflict. Under computer terrorism
(cyberterrorism), it is necessary to understand intimidation of the population
and authorities, with the purpose of achievement of criminal intentions. It is
shown in threat of violence, maintenance of a condition of constant fear with
the purpose of achievement of certain political or other purposes, compulsion
to the certain actions, attraction of attention to the person of the
cyberterrorist or the terrorist organization, which he represents. Causing or
threat of causing of harm is the original prevention of an opportunity of
causing of heavier consequences if conditions of the cyberterrorist will not be
executed.
Prominent feature
of a cyberterrorism and his difference from cybercrime is its openness when
conditions of the terrorist are widely notified.
The cyberterrorism
is the serious threat to mankind comparable
to the nuclear, bacteriological and chemical weapon, and a degree of
this threat by virtue of the novelty, not up to the end is still realized and
investigated. Experience which already is present at the world community in
this area with all evidence testifies to doubtless vulnerability of any state
as the cyberterrorism has no frontiers, the cyberterrorist is capable to
threaten equally to the information systems located practically in any point of
globe. To find out and neutralize the virtual terrorist
rather difficultly because of too small quantity of traces left by him, as
against the real world where traces
of done remains nevertheless more.
Special concern acts of terrorism cause in law enforcement bodies
connected with use of a global network the Internet
from which open sources it is possible to receive manufacturing techniques
biological, chemical and even the nuclear weapon of terrorists.
Cracking
sites, cyberterrorists get access to a different sort of the information,
including confidential. On many pages of local authorities data of a various
degree of importance are laid out. For example, it can be circuits of
underground communications. Plus to this, criminals can get access to the
personal data of many users of a network, beginning from the address and a
phone number and finishing the detailed information on the person, including a
hobby and the schedule of a life. And, at last, abduction of the data on credit
cards enables to steal money.
Ronald Dika, a
director of the National Infrastructure
Protection Center of FBI the USA, in the report published on a website of the Federal Bureau of Investigations
<http://www.fbi.gov/> [3] speaks, that in the world the new
form of terrorism - "cyberterrorism" was generated, it uses a
computer and communication networks for destruction of parts of a national
infrastructure and achievement of the purposes. We every day collide with
computer attacks to the governmental organizations. Achilles' heel of America
is growing dependence on computer systems and information technologies.
It is fine known to
its opponents: recently two Chinese officers have issued the book in which
methods of influence on USA military power with use of computer viruses and
cyberattacks are discussed.
Today a number of
the Islamic terrorist organizations use this method for updating the "cash
departments". As if to attempts of breaking up the sites of state
institutions the USA they are difficult for counting up. Only for last three
years official Internet - representations of the American authorities have been
attacked up to one million times.
As against the usual terrorist
who for achievement of the purposes uses an explosive or a small arms, the
cyberterrorist uses modern information technologies, computer systems and the
networks, the special software intended for non-authorized penetration into
computer systems and the organizations of remote attack to information
resources of a victim for achievement of the purposes. First of all these are
computer program bookmarks and viruses, including network, carrying out the
reading, updating or destruction of the information, so-called " logic
bombs ", "Trojan" programs, programs - snuffers and other kinds
of the information weapon.
As
example of a cyberterrorism with use of modern information technologies the
murder accomplished in 1998 in one clinic the USA. There
was a hardly wounded important witness under
protection of FBI. Got through the Internet
the non-authorized access to a local area network of clinic and having overcome
a number of gateways and protective barriers, the hacker - murderer has made
recustomizing cardiostimulator therefore the patient has died.
The computer virus
which has received the name “ I love you ”, started in the Internet on May, 1,
2000 in Asia, with improbable speed was distributed on a planet, having broken
job of government agencies, parliaments and corporations of many countries. The
Pentagon in cooperation with the private companies in the field of computer
safety began job on struggle against “love worm” with the purpose of creation
of a necessary antivirus. The federal bureau of investigations the has excited
criminal investigation on the fact of virus attack to the Internet, and soon,
the National bureau of investigations (NBI) of Philippines has received the
warrant for arrest of the hacker who lived on Manila suburb and has started a
computer virus “ I love you ”. Agents of FBI believe he has started a virus on
two e-mail addresses - spydersuper.net.ph. and mailmesuper.net.ph, from which “
I love you ” also it started to be distributed worldwide, having destroyed
programs about 45 million computer networks, including in the Pentagon and the
British parliament. “ I love you ” became the most high-speed computer virus
from all existing till now. Experts warn, that due to ability of
"mutation", it can increase the destructive potential.
According to
American group “Computer Economic”, the virus “ I love you ” represents the act
of a cyberterrorism - most serious of number ever registered. For first five
days from the moment of its occurrence it has put a material damage of 6,7
billion dollars.
Unfortunately,
danger of virus cyberattacks grows. So in April 2002 the dangerous version of
Internet - worm Klez again became more active. In result millions computers all
over the world appeared infected with this program and their quantity grows
with unprecedented speed, and scales of epidemic and danger of this nocuous
program puts "Klez.h" in the same line with “ I love you ”, "CodeRed",
"Sircam" which became the reason of enormous losses which exact sum
should be counted up.
Minister of Justice
USA Janet Rinohas called the hi-tech companies to help the government with
struggle against electronic crimes. “ I call leaders of the hi-tech industry to
undertake this problem and to undertake concrete steps, on informing law
enforcement bodies on the incidents concerning penetration into computer
networks ”, - she has declared on June 19, 2000 at the conference devoted to
electronic safety.
Till now the
companies and banks reluctantly went on such cooperation with authorities,
mainly because of fears of disclosure of the internal information. However the
government promises to limit the intervention in sphere of private business at
presence of counter steps of the companies.
“ Efficiency of any strategy is based on
active participation of all parties, - Rino has noticed. - We have a common aim
- it is necessary to provide the safety and reliability of our computer
networks ”. The USA seriously is afraid of the powerful cyberattacks, capable
to paralyze all civil infrastructure of the country. As Richard Clark,
coordinating the programs of struggle against terrorism and a safety of
computer systems, has declared, the separate unfriendly countries are engaged
in penetration into USA computer networks with the purpose of revealing a
degree of their vulnerability.
« It is not from
the theory, it is quite real, - he has said, reporting at the conference
devoted to electronic safety. - These countries conduct today electronic
investigation of computer networks of our civil infrastructure. They search for
ways of an attack on the USA computer networks in case of war». Thus, Clark has
refused to say he meant which countries. Earlier the American special services
reported the congress that China appears among the states, which actively
develop means of conducting electronic war.
The USA economy suffers a special loss from cyberterrorists. Such
opinion has stated the assistant of USA president on national safety Condolise
Rise. “ Today the cybernetic space became a part of our economy ”, - she has noted. The number of the commercial
transactions concluded by means of the Internet, in the USA last years has
promptly increased, and financial damage from cyberattacks in 2000, according
to experts, has made almost 400 million dollars.
Besides, by Rise, practically each branch of national economy, including power
engineering, transport and communication, bank sector uses computer networks
and, accordingly, depends on their serviceability. “ Having broken job of these
networks, it is possible to paralyze the country ”, - Rise has declared, reporting at the forum on computer
safety.
Terrorist groups
actively use the Internet and an e-mail for planning, propagation and recruitments
of new members. Director of CIA George Tenet has declared, that terrorist
groups, including Heisbolla, Hamas, Abu Nidal and the organization of Ben Laden
«Al Queda » the most actively use computers for their activity. In particular,
Ramsi Jusef, who organized explosion of September 11, received instructions on
the terrorist act organization by the ciphered messages directly on the
notebook. Other terrorist groups, including «Black tigers» attack websites and
e-mail addresses of the governments supporting authorities of Sri Lanka. During
confrontation on the Western coast of the Jordan the government of Israel faces
a problem of hackers’ attacks, which thus support Islamic extremists.
Summarizing
concerning a problem of a cyberterrorism, it may safely be asserted, that this
socially dangerous phenomenon is not a myth, but a reality, both for world
community, and for our state. Mass transition to electronic management of
technological processes in manufacture will result our country to essentially new
kinds of crimes, including to electronic terrorism.
The urgency of
problems of computer terrorism for Ukraine is dual: on the one hand, the state
is not so rich to convert modern control facilities of the chemical
enterprises, atomic power stations and other critical and vulnerable
structures. It would make their impregnable for attacks of intellectual
saboteurs. On the other hand, the formed information infrastructure becomes a
strategic resource, which demands constant attention. Today, open networks are
means of an information antagonism in hands of politicians, businessmen, the
religious organizations, terrorist groups and criminal groupings.
Effective struggle
against transnational computer criminality and terrorism is a key element of a
safety, and not only by way of struggle against a cyberterrorism, but also is a
real counteraction to new forms of terrorism and the organized crime.
Events on September
11 have called new dynamics, which is capable to overcome former barriers and
disagreements. The computer form of terrorism is only one of challenges in the
sphere of safety, a situation is really potentially disturbing, but completely
is not hopeless.
As the
recommendations directed on counteraction to dangerous tendencies and
effectiveness increase of struggle against a cyberterrorism, we offer the
following:
- The organization
of effective cooperation with the foreign states, their law enforcement bodies
and special services, and also the international organizations which problem
includes struggle against a cyberterrorism and transnational computer
criminality.
- The creation of
national division on struggle against cybercrime and the international contact
offices for assistance at reaction to transnational computer incidents.
- The expansion of
the international cooperation (first of all with Russia) in sphere of legal aid
in struggle against computer criminality and a cyberterrorism.
- The enactment of
universal laws on electronic safety according to international standards and
the Convention of the Council of Europe on struggle against cybercrime.
1.
Jury Travnikov. Crimes in the Web: Borders without the deputies.
http://www.pl-computers.ru/article.cfm?Id=742&Page=3
2.
The criminal code of Ukraine (accepted by the seventh session of the
Supreme Rada of Ukraine on April, 5, 2001). -Ê., the Official bulletin of
Ukraine, 2001. -p.105-106.
3.
Ronald L. Dick. Issue of Intrusions into Government Computer Networks.
http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress01/rondick.htm
4.
Andrew Konri-Mjurrej. The safety politics in days of
terror.
http://www.osp.ru/lan/2002/02/083.htm