February 15, 2000

RESPONSE TO CYBER ATTACKS AGAINST THE INTERNET:

REGULATE?; PROTECT 'OPENNESS!'; HAIL 'WHITE KNIGHT' HACKERS!

As President Clinton prepares to make an announcement today outlining an initiative to create a national cyber security center--expected after his meeting at the White House with computer executives and technology experts--commentators in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Canada mulled over the implications of last week's "cyber attacks" against e-commerce sites on the Internet. Pundits everywhere noted that the Internet is "changing society in general and each of our lives in particular," but there was little agreement on anything else. Opinion was mixed on several fronts, including the likely perpetrators of the attacks, the degree of damage inflicted, the proper response to such incidents, and the overall merits of the new e-commerce. Many analysts saw the attacks as reprehensible "sabotage" against a new and beneficial technology. They were divided, however, on whether to respond by imposing more regulation on the Internet. Others editorialists weighed in with a certain glee about the attacks. Echoing sentiment found in commentary appearing after the global economic meetings in Seattle and Davos, these pundits had serious misgivings about the "information highway" specifically, and "globalization" in general They approved a "slowing down" of the Internet "train"--either through greater regulation or attacks by "white knight" hackers. Following are highlights:

'REGULATE'?: Many analysts--most of whom favorably viewed the Internet as a "model example of continuous innovation"--expressed deep concern about last week's attacks. They saw them as exposing the "vulnerabilities" of e-commerce and as a precursor of possible future threats to the information age. The greatest danger posed by the hacking, according to some, is that they "hit at the crucial issue" of "confidence" in the new information age-driven global economy. Many held that the attacks highlighted need for stricter action to ensure greater on-line security. A few applauded the Clinton administration for focusing on cyber security.

PROTECT 'OPENNESS'!: Other critics of the attack warned against "overreaction," worrying that attempts to clamp down on the Internet by greater security mechanisms may undercut the Web's "overwhelming strength," i.e., its openness. A French paper criticized the U.S. reaction as being "fueled by the country's paranoia over a new form of terrorism" and "rather excessive." An Italian daily, emphasizing that "the Net is not a hierarchical system...but a widespread, horizontal one," suggested that "if fear does not expand," it can "absorb wounds and local malfunctioning" and "incidents can be limited."

HAIL 'WHITE KNIGHTS'!: A number of observers were not unhappy about the news of successful hacking. Several asserted that the attack of the "cyber-pirates" is a "follow-up" to the anti-globalization "battle" begun in Seattle, and yet another instance where man has been "caught unprepared and at the mercy of the paradox he himself has created." An Italian commentator maintained that "the struggle for the future is between those who want to continue to journey at any cost...and those who want to stop, or at least to slow down, the train.... I stand with the hackers." Noting the current trend in the global economy to "entrust control of planes, water, economy and commerce to computers," several of these analysts held that the cyber attacks merely attest to the fact that we are "not safe at all."

EDITOR: Diana McCaffrey and Katherine Starr

EDITOR'S NOTE: This survey is based on 24 reports from 10 countries, February 10-14. Editorial excerpts are grouped by region; editorials from each country are listed from the most recent date.

EUROPE

FRANCE: "The "Net Hackers"

The security of the Internet was headline news in many French papers (2/11), which, like right-of-center Le Figaro, noted that recent attacks on several websites "have raised much concern worldwide." But left-of-center Le Monde, in its editorial, minimized the danger and commented: "The hackers are somewhere between outlaws and white knights.... The reaction of the United States, fueled by the country's paranoia over a new form of terrorism, seems to be rather excessive. Information systems have become so vital in the United States that the slightest attack on their integrity becomes a vital threat to the nation's security. Yet, each new incident serves to develop our awareness of these weaknesses. It is enough to do something about the shortcomings which manufacturers allow, in their mad race to build the Net-economy."

GERMANY: "Deficiencies Make It Easy For Criminals"

Right-of-center Koelnische Rundschau of Cologne asserted (2/12): "A totally new infrastructure develops with the Internet. This infrastructure has a profound significance for roads and railways, telephone cables and power lines. Since the Internet has developed only over the past few years, its technology is not yet fully developed as was the technology of cars in the 20's or telephone networks in the 50's. There is a lack of capacities and uniform standards, reliability and security. These deficiencies makes it easy for criminals, who are able to paralyze computers of international companies with primitive means. The more the significance of the Internet infrastructure grows, the greater is the danger that this new cyberterrorism can also cost the lives of human beings."

"Good Reason For U.S. Concern"

Right-of-center Frankenpost of Hof (2/14) had this to say: "There is a good reason that the latest sabotage attempts hit the global Web society like a shock and mobilized the U.S. president as well as U.S. justice authorities. All of a sudden, the information society that believes in progress has realized how vulnerable it is. The same indefatigable spirit which conceives so many new technologies--and the Internet is only the model example of continuous innovations--always creates new methods to bypass or misuse the interlinked structures. Some of us ordinary citizens who have no computer or no link to the World Wide Web may lean back and say this is not my business and feel a malicious glee that it were the harbingers of the nice new Internet world who have now been hit. But this would be a fatal conclusion. It is only a question of time until nothing will work without the Internet. If it is damaged, we will all feel the consequences."

"Confidence In The Digital Era"

Martin Halusa maintained in right-of-center Die Welt of Berlin (2/11): "The three days of attacks from cyberspace have revealed one of the great disadvantages of the World Wide Web: its vulnerability. The openness of the Internet has thus far been considered its overwhelming strength, but now it seems that it is at the same time its greatest weakness. The Internet has no headquarters, and it does not have any police...and this makes it susceptible.... The danger of hacker offensives can destroy confidence in the Net. These attacks have not caused an Armageddon, but they are a warning shot. The question is against whom?

"It may be possible that an organized group of 'hacker activists' or a professional criminal are behind the wave of attacks. But it is more likely that another poor chap wanted to tell the world what kind of great guy he is and what he can do from his PC. The cyberoffensive will increase calls for stricter controls of the Internet. Last year, the U.S. government began with the development of a plan to enhance the security of computers.... This is the danger which can be caused by the hacker crimes: Politics, forced to act, can now overreact.... It would be fatal if such a development would slow down the development of the Internet. The spoilsport from this week must be tracked down quickly, event though this may be a pious wish."

"The Web Economy Needs Greater Security"

Axel Postinett argued in an editorial in business Handelsblatt of Duesseldorf (2/11): "Since the beginning of this week, giant Web attacks have been worrying Web managers and politicians in the United States...since the new growth motor Internet is threatening to be slowed down.... And there is even more: A future closely linked society whose digital veins can be torpedoed according to someone's own discretion is a nightmare.... The problem is still restricted to the United States where there are the 'most valuable' victims...and, in the United States, the Web has already turned into a driving factor of the economy.... However, the hacker attacks have shown that the Internet economy must become safer. The governments and the EU Commission must considerably increase research efforts that aim at making the Net safer.... Only if safety acquires the same value in the Internet it now has in real economy, will we really have embarked upon the path to the information age."

"Information Protection"

Centrist Abendzeitung of Munich judged (2/11): "The Internet is digging its own grave. The hacker attack on leading Web sites...shows that the strength of the data network can, at the same time, turn into its greatest weakness.... Since the global economic and financial markets are almost completely dependent on the Internet, a global economic crash can no longer be ruled out if the Net crashes. All Internet companies...must protect all data from unallowed access, even if this may go at the expense of unlimited possibilities. Otherwise, the information highway will turn into a dead-end street."

ITALY: "Third Millennium War"

A front-page commentary by Augusto Minzolini in centrist, influential La Stampa held (2/12): "We can be certain that, a few years from now, we will switch from the 'space shield' to the 'computer shield,' from the viruses of bacteriological bombs to the viruses of computers. The experience of the last few days, however, shows that the exponential growth of technologies has once again caught man unprepared and at the mercy of the paradox he himself has created. Due to our need to be safe, we have entrusted the control of planes, water, economy and commerce to computers, and, in the space of a few days, a handful of hackers prompted by bad intentions but with a common strategy...have shown that we are not safe at all."

"Pioneers In The Far Web"

Under the headline above--which is a play on words used by the Italian press which likes to note evidence of a violent U.S. society--Luca De Biase opined in centrist, influential La Stampa (2/12): "[The recent hacker attacks] show the lack of maturity of the Web and its way of functioning. The new economy is taking its first steps, and, in addition to the huge opportunities it offers, it also gives space to ambiguous merchants and strange Luddites. Its technological bases will be safer and more reliable in the future. But this is still a 'pioneer' era: charmed by the New Frontier, some leave, others stay behind for fear of the bandits. And those who decide to leave know that they have to take some precautions....

"Just like on the Frontier, the honest also used to bring their guns, similarly on the Internet even normal navigators play hacker to some extent.... Will the Internet become a normal country in the end?"

"Luddites On Line"

Provocative, classical liberal Il Foglio featured this editorial (2/11): "The recent attacks on the Internet...are the result of a sophisticated technique.... Once upon a time, cars and railroads were attacked. Later on, electricity poles, oil pipelines, airports and flights were hit. Now e-commerce has become the symbol of the global market, which is the dirtiest thing for ideologues from the revolutionary left and the reactionary right.... Indeed, technology will have to find the methods to make these attacks increasingly difficult and expensive (for the hackers). And it will succeed."

"Why I Do Not Condemn Cyberterrorists"

Massimo Fini held on the front-page of Rome's conservative Il Tempo (2/11): "The attack of the cyberpirates...is just a follow-up, a more sophisticated one, to the Seattle battle. It is a frontal attack to modernity, of which the Internet is both the symbol and its most effective expression.... Indeed, the struggle for the future is between those who want to continue to journey at any cost, by maintaining that 'we cannot go back,' and those who want to stop, or at least to slow down, the train.... I stand with the hackers."

"Confidence Is Not Hit"

Antonio Pilati opined in leading, business Il Sole-24 Ore (2/11): "Without confidence, the construction of the New Economy...might fall apart. Therefore, recent attacks...hit at a crucial issue. They put the expectations of the business community for the progressive, secure and safe growth of the Internet in doubt.... However, the net is not a hierarchical system...[but] a widespread, horizontal one, which can absorb...wounds and local malfunctioning. If fear does not expand, incidents can be limited."

"From Seattle To The War On Line"

A sidebar commentary by Augusto Minzolini in centrist, influential La Stampa said (2/10): "[The Internet] has now become the preferred means of terrorism of the New Millennium. Less dangerous and easier to be used than a bomb, it can cause some million-dollar damage.... The hackers have turned into mercenaries...which may use their skill even for ideological purposes.... Based on the culture stemming from...Seattle and Davos, terrorist hackers...may have invented a kind of on-line war in order to continue their fight against...globalization, and even FBI does not at all put aside this track.... On-line terrorism might really become the terrorism of the Third Millennium. The passage is obvious: as the first global demonstration--Seattle--was organized through Internet sites worldwide, also a more direct attack against globalization must necessarily confront itself with the same means."

"Fear On Line"

A front page editorial by Vittorio Zucconi in left-leaning, influential La Repubblica held (2/10): "The worm in the apple of 2000 was there then. However, the worm was not the machine, but the man.... Also President Clinton intervenes to tell America...that the problem is serious and...much graver than a simple stunt by some isolated, computer genius."

BELGIUM: "Clinton More Than Right To Be Concerned"

In a lengthy article on the hackers' recent activity, electronic communications expert Luc Van Aelst wrote in business-oriented De Financieel-Economische Tijd (2/15): "U.S. President Bill Clinton is more than right to be concerned. Information and telecommunications technology (ICT) represents about 50 percent of GNP growth in the United States. The Internet represents a major part of this. The same is true for corporate investments. ICT in general, and the Internet in particular, are becoming more and more important. Any damage to confidence in the Internet would have very negative consequences for the American--and global--economies. The Internet seems to become the victim of its own nature and success. Nobody owns the Internet and there is no central regulation. Moreover, major investments have been made in recent years to make it faster and more effective. It is these characteristics which have opened the door for the hackers. Closing that door all of a sudden would catapult the Internet years back into the past. That cannot happen."

"An Investment Opportunity"

U.S. correspondent Nathalie Mattheiem commented in independent Le Soir (2/10): "The Americans, many of whom are using e-mail or trading via the Internet, are wondering: Who will be next? But curiosity prevails over worry. Paradoxically, these hackings, instead of underlining the vulnerability of the electronic infrastructure at a time when the 'dot.com' economy is being lauded, are interpreted by the most enterprising as an opportunity to invest in businesses specializing in the protection of cyberspace."

SPAIN: "Internet Fear"

Conservative ABC opined (2/14): "The latest news about hackers disrupting certain well known Internet web sites has received an unusual amount of media coverage.... Whether we like it or not, these new technologies are changing society in general and each of our lives in particular.... As U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno clearly pointed out: 'We need to realize that not only has the way people do business changed, but also the way criminals do theirs.'"

"FeetOfClay.com"

Independent El Mundo opined (2/11): "Those who attacked some of the most important Internet web sites wanted to underscore the Net's vulnerability.... Some speculate that the responsible parties might be those who want to free a Net which is being increasingly strangled by the major electronic commerce companies.... The attack also could have been carried out by the major e-commerce firms themselves, to draw the attention to [the web's] insecurity. It is no accident that President Clinton has announced that he is going to devote $37 million to dealing with such attacks.... This week's sabotage is a warning to Net mariners, especially to the crews of those big ships who have ignored how easy it is to spring a leak."

TURKEY: "Computer Security: Everybody's Problem"

Fikret Ertan wrote in religious/intellectual Zaman (2/15): "The White House is going to host a very important meeting on computer security matters.... The issue of computer security was highlighted around the world after a series of incidents occurred with computer hackers; however, it has already been one of the top priorities for the American administration for the last two years.... The White House meeting proves the importance the U.S. administration attaches to the issue. In the meeting there will be much discussion on the 'National Plan for Securing Information Systems' as well as on newly-introduced 'FIDNET.'... The security of information systems is far beyond being considered a national issue; it has already become an international issue."

EAST ASIA

CHINA: "U.S. Vows To Pursue Internet Hackers"

Many Chinese newspapers carried official news agency's Xinhua's article on Internet hacker attacks (2/11): "U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno announced a criminal investigation on Wednesday into the latest wave of hacker attacks on major Internet sites, as law enforcement officials conceded they had scant idea of who or what they are up against.... She vows to take steps to make sure that cyberspace remains 'a secure place to do business' so the Internet may continue 'to bring the world together rather than split it apart.'"

WESTERN HEMISPHERE

ARGENTINA: "Virtual Pirates"

An editorial in pro-government La Prensa commented (2/13): "The United States has not yet recovered from the shock caused by recent cyber attacks, the worst ones since the creation of the Internet.... Nevertheless, Internet piracy has not always been a ghost in the United States, because not long ago the CIA used it in the cyber war it launched against Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, during the course of NATO's campaign against Belgrade. This offensive through the Internet affected Milosevic's personal banking accounts, and, according to some serious sources, it was carried out thanks to the help of U.S. 'hackers.'.... For the United States it was an illegal and known action for having used it 'officially.' Now, the country has become a victim of its own 'hackers' which have caused great damage; but what worries the United States most is the 'surprise' factor which showed the high vunerability of systems which they thought were safe and invulnerable."

BRAZIL: "The New Terrorism"

A byliner in liberal Folha de Sao Paulo's op-ed page observed (2/11): "One of the most important and promising instruments that move the 'new market,' the Internet, may be under constant attacks of sabotage. If the invasions, among other dangers, could permit access to confidential information and damage data banks, this new form of sabotage--targeted to commercial sites--has the capacity to affect all the business that take place on the net. The velocity with which the security systems prepare to respond to this type of attack has been less than the capacity to create new ways to hack it. Maybe there is no possible solution to the problem of the new terrorism that will not affect this equation. I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future!"

CANADA: "Fragile, So What?"

Benoit Munger commented on the front page of liberal, French-language Le Devoir (2/11): "The Internet...is a soft bellied giant with feet of clay. If individuals with questionable ideas and loosely-organized groups can so easily bring down giants like Yahoo, CNN or Amazon, then we're not out of the woods.... Despite all the media noise, the consequences are not that terrible: Nothing more than reduced earnings.... No data was destroyed, no confidential information on users was stolen. However, it will have made consumers more fidgety with respect to the security of online navigation.... What makes the Internet so vulnerable, is its open and decentralized nature. To overprotect it with regulations just because the first pirate to come could bring it down would be a mistake that we, simple users, would have to pay for.... The Internet does require a safer environment, but it must not lose its open nature to do so. A giant with feet of clay? Yes indeed! And all for the best."

"The Torn Net"

Editorialist Mario Roy opined in centrist, French-language La Presse (2/10): "Granted, one can feel admiration for the ability of the hackers. The rebel sleeping in each one of us may even secretly cheer, and see this as the victory of the small guys against the giants. But the fact remains that vandalism--which is what we are faced with here--is the most wanton, childish and useless form of crime there is. And destruction, by definition, is rarely constructive."

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10/29/99

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