Act and Actor Attribution in Cyberspace: A Proposed Analytic Framework
Abstract
TSgt Joe Pesek rolled out of bed shortly after 0600 to get breakfast at the NCO club. He was assigned to the 5th Bomber Group and had arranged to meet his friends for golf after breakfast. The course in Honolulu was beautiful, and there was no better way to spend a lazy Sunday morning. Waiting for the bus, he admired the beautiful blue sky flecked with distant aircraft. Seeing this many aircraft meant a carrier must be coming into port. Joe wasn t alarmed until the first plane pulled up low over Hickam Airfield with machine guns chattering. The clearly visible rising sun of Imperial Japan on the wings told the story Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor.1 The following day, 8 December 1941, the United States and Japan declared war against each other. Seventy years later, Air Force major Shelly Johnson rolled out of bed looking forward to another day of leave in Honolulu. Taking out her smartphone, she tried to scan a check into her account so she would have extra spending money. Despite several attempts, the check failed to deposit. Frustrated, she used her tablet to access the bank s website; however, the homepage refused to load. She finished breakfast and tried again without luck. Irritated, she gave up and got into her car to enjoy her day of leave. A few days later she read the headline: Major Banks Hit with Biggest Cyberattacks in History. 2 The article explained how several of the largest banks, including her own, had been the victim of a cyber attack. The Islamist group Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters claimed responsibility for the attacks; however, researchers were divided about whether they were responsible. Senator Joe Lieberman claimed the attacks were actually conducted by Iran in response to US economic sanctions. The article provided more questions than answers. Major Johnson wondered who actually conducted the attack. Could it even be considered an attack, and if so, what was attacked: the customers, the individual banks, the US economy?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA603128
Entities
People
- Eric F. Mejia
Organizations
- Air University