Security researchers are still trying to work out precisely who is responsible for the cyberwar tactics that have knocked many Georgian government Web sites offline. While Georgian officials blamed Russia, many safety measure experts have pointed the finger at the Russian Business Network (RBN), a shadowy outfit — that may no longer even exist — which has previously provided network services for Russian criminal gangs.

But Gadi Evron, a prominent Web protection researcher and the founder of Israel’s Computer Emergency Response Team, posited that the attackers are more likely nationalistic “enthusiasts” than organized criminals or Russian government operatives.

Pointing out that in the current environment nearly any distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is likely to be deemed “cyberwar,” Evron wrote on his blog, “Not every fighting is warfare. While Georgia is obviously under a DDoS attack, and it is political in nature, it doesn’t so far seem different than any other online aftermath by fans. Political tensions are

always followed by online attacks by sympathizers.”

Since Russia is already using real bombs in Georgia, it could have “eliminated the infrastructure kinetically,” whether that were its aim, Evron said.

Is that Warfare?

“Coulda, shoulda. . . the nature of what’s going on isn’t clear, but until we are convinced anything state-sponsored is happening on the World Wide Web, it is my official opinion that is not warfare, but just some unaffiliated attacks by Russian hackers and/or some rioting by enthusiastic Russian supporters,” Evron concluded.

Regardless of who is responsible or even the nature of the attacks, “What matters is that the Net is being used as a tool in warfare,” said Andrew Storms, director of shield operations for nCircle Network shield.

DDoS attacks are serious business, Storms added. “Let’s not put a diminutive feel on these cyberattacks. A DDoS attack is still a serious event, and according to…

Original post by dhiram