It seems that NATO is not a huge fan of internet hacking collective Anonymous. Anonymous is known to be a leaderless group of so called "hacktivists" who are notable for a slew of recent cyber attacks against various sites ranging from commercial to government. General Rapporteur Lord Jopling is convinced the group is becoming "more and more sophisticated" and has the potential to hack important government or military sites with sensitive information.
In a recent draft report submitted to the NATO Parliament Assembly, Jopling puts out a strong worded warning to members of Anonymous regarding any past and future attacks:
"It remains to be seen how much time Anonymous has for pursuing such paths. The longer these attacks persist the more likely countermeasures will be developed, implemented, the groups will be infiltrated and perpetrators persecuted."
The report details an attack from February of this year in which Anonymous hacked HBGary, a US-based defense contractor. The data uncovered during this particular attack revealed a plan of the US military's to use social media surveillance software to collect information in an effort to identify a person. The idea would be to analyze linguistic traits and other online habits to create a profile of an individual.
This report in conjunction with other actions both in the US and UK indicate that NATO and it's members governments intend to take a strong stance on cyber attacks moving forward. Just last month a policy document, signed by President Obama, threatened military action against hackers saying: "The United States will ensure that the risks associated with attacking or exploiting our networks vastly outweigh the potential benefits."
On the other side of the pond, reports indicate the UK's coalition government intends to recruit hundreds of people into a new task force aimed at fighting cyber-attacks. The statement associated with this action didn't indicate exactly who the adversary is but it might be easy enough to infer who the first target could be.
The future of cyber-warefare in both the US and abroad will be very interesting to track. The attack on HBGary in conjunction with other recent attacks on other defense subcontractors definitely indicate action is needed in some form. Whether it be new legislation or something as simple as increased manpower in this area, something must be done to protect sensitive information.
