[IsraelTimes] While the world worried on Wednesday about the implications of what may be the largest denial of service, or DDOS, attack ever -- as two European groups feuded over what does and does not constitute spam -- a much more serious Internet threat was averted when Egyptian police apprehended three individuals found hacking away at undersea Internet cables in an apparent attempt to cut off communications between Asia, Africa, and Europe.
According to Dr. Tal Pavel, CEO of MiddleEastNet, which catalogs intelligence about events affecting the Internet in the region, the chances that the three are affiliated with a terrorist group are "very high."
Pavel referred to a recounting of the incident on the Facebook page of the Egyptian Navy, which described how sailors were called in to investigate suspicious activity off the coast of Alexandria. Divers were seen entering the water from a fishing boat about 750 meters off the coast -- right atop the nexus of several Internet communication cables that connect India, the Middle East, and Europe. Sailors raided the ship and found cutting equipment and other proof that the divers were working to disrupt Internet service -- with further evidence coming from the damage caused to the SEA-ME-WE-4 cable.
The three had apparently been at the hack job for a while, said Pavel; Egyptian officials reported a significant slowdown in Internet speed on Wednesday. The original complaint was filed by Egypt Telecom, responsible for Internet connections in Egypt, and responsible for the segment of the cable that passes through Egyptian territory.
Wednesday's cable hacking attack was the second one off the Egyptian coast in a week. Days before, the SEACOM cable, which connects Africa and Europe, was partially damaged, causing a 60% reduction in Internet cable communications in Egypt, Pavel said.
It's not clear if there is a connection between the damage to SEACOM and SEA-ME-WE-4, but Egyptian officials are investigating.
So far, there is no information as to the identity of the vandals, but Pavel said that it is very likely that they will turn out to be terrorists, affiliated with al-Qaeda or other radical Islamist groups. The attacks may be a new attempt by Islamists to cut off Internet access so as to prevent reports of increasing protests against the Egyptian government from getting out to the rest of the world.
That view was confirmed by Internet security expert Daniel Nisman, Middle East and North Africa Intelligence Manager for Max Security Solutions in Tel Aviv. Writing in the Huffington Post, Nisman said that "Anyone familiar with Egypt's explosive post-revolution politics could easily point out a number of actors who would be more than ecstatic to cut off the country's 80 million residents from the outside world. The most obvious candidate would be the Moslem Brüderbund, which has come under immense criticism from just about every corner of the political spectrum for the failings of the Morsi administration, whom it supports.
"At a time of growing political violence, police brutality, and economic doldrums, there are likely more than a few Brotherhood members would like to hinder their opposition's proliferation of politically-damaging content over the Internet. It is also worth mentioning, that if anyone in Egypt knew the location of the country's fiber optic cables, it would be the now Brotherhood-dominated Communications Ministry," Nisman added.
According to Pavel, "Damage to any major undersea cable is very serious, as it is a one-time event that could significantly disrupt Internet communications for hundreds of millions of people."
"The Internet includes a large number of such cables, some of which are redundant in order to provide backups in case of damage." But the system is vulnerable, he said. "Many of the world's most important cables crisscross at major intersections around the world, and the area of the Suez Canal near Alexandria is one such area."
Thus, bully boyz could cause a great deal of damage in a relatively short amount of time if they target a sensitive area, Pavel said.
"These two damage incidents illustrate the ease with which interested parties could impact negatively on the smooth running of the Internet, perhaps shutting the Internet down partially or even fully in a large part of the world," said Pavel. "Taken with the news of the major DDOS attack that has been ongoing, it is clear that the there are many threats to the Internet, and that new security strategies to deal with these threats are needed."
One time in Alexandria,
in wicked Alexandria,
Where nights were wild with revelry,
and life was but a game.
There lived, so the report is,
an adventuress and courtesan,
The pride of Alexandria,
and Thais was her name.
Nearby in peace and piety,
avoiding all society,
There dwelt a band of holy men
who'd build a refuge there,
And in the desert solitude
they spurned all earthly folly to
Devote their lives to holy works,
to fasting and to prayer.
One day while on the first prayer set
a vision of the internet
a holy man saw upon the screen
a picture rather rude
for on the screen an image there
of Thais wearing just her hair
a-frolicking before his eyes
in what artists call the nude
The holy man grabbed his big hack saw
shouting "I'll enforce islamic law
he headed for the 10 fathom line
while wading out to sea
with scuba gear and "al akbar"
he sliced through cable fibers far
till the evil internet was quiet as could be
In triumph he did reach the shore
But suddenly he felt quite sore
A mob had gathered throwing stones
faces grim in murder set
They smashed his face and broke his bones
And bashed him with a cordless phone
And then they yelled for all to hear,
"Don't mess with our internet!"
With apologies to the original poem of Thais....
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/31/2013 2:06 Comments ||
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#4
a loss of internet would also devastate Egyptian govt functions, Moslem brotherhood communications, etc. so, unless the people doing it were oblivious to that damage or were of the 'the internet is too infidel to exist' mind, the narrative in the article doesn't make sense
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/31/2013 7:43 Comments ||
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#5
With respect, lg, it seems it'd make perfect sense to a 7th century wannabe.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/31/2013 11:00 Comments ||
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#6
"Mo didn't tweet!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/31/2013 11:06 Comments ||
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#7
I'm inclined to think that these goons were good Muslim boyz trying to please Allah.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
03/31/2013 11:48 Comments ||
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#8
a loss of internet would also devastate Egyptian govt functions, Moslem brotherhood communications, etc.
Perhaps. Then again, many 'corrections and insurrections' have been performed with merely a series of meetings, courier-delivered instructions, etc.
Long but good piece in the WSJ about how the next big war may be, or at least start off as, a cyberwar. Emphasis on China versus the U.S., though small foes could also engage in a cyberwar. Worth the read.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/31/2013 10:45 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
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#1
Guess that means all electronic business will go manual which means we can't buy anything more from overseas.
There was a Russian economist at about this time a hundred years ago who postulated that due to the intertwined nature of Europe's economy, no one could really afford to go to war. That of course didn't stop WWI and the economic consequences that brought about the world we have today.
Of course, you have to realize they broke the first law of economics:
Russian economists are usually right, its the German economists who are usually wrong. You listen to a kraut, you get Lenin, you listen to a Russian, you get Bernie Madoff, wait, let me get back to you, there has to be a better example!!
Maynard Keynes?
Paul Krugman?
Whatshisbutt Greenspan?
Paul Volker?
Someone help me I'm dying....
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/31/2013 18:33 Comments ||
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[Pak Daily Times] It is not a popular thing to say but Mr Zardari's calculating pragmatism has probably served Pakistain better at this time, than the crusading gung-ho panache exhibited by his predecessors
Pakistain will have to grapple with serious issues in the upcoming election with security and the economy at the top of the agenda. It remains to be seen whether this election campaign will strengthen democratic discourse or turn into the normal political slugfest filled with slander, distasteful language and hostility between the parties. There are early indications that the opposition will make an election issue of the person and record of the much-maligned incumbent president, Mr Asif Ali Zardari. Mr Zardari and the Pakistain People's Party (PPP) came to power in 2008 on a wave of sympathy and hope, after a Taliban suicide-bomber killed his wife and the then PPP leader, Ms Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... , during the election campaign. As a result, Mr Zardari, never popular and dogged by corruption allegations became head of the party.
Paks were naturally looking for a promise of vision, leadership, courage and strength from Mr Zardari when he accidently took over the mantle of leadership from the charismatic Ms Bhutto. But Mr Zardari is not equipped or can pretend to be a visionary leader like the earlier Bhuttos, so there is little point in placing him on that pedestal. People must take him for who he is, which is a shrewd tactician and a street smart politician. He has successfully kept his ego and self-interest in check, to keep a nascent and flawed democratic dispensation in place. His greatest asset is his special talent for maneuvering himself out of the tight spots he gets himself into. He has had the humility to listen to his bitterest critics and accommodate their views and even admit his own mistakes. It is not a popular thing to say but Mr Zardari's calculating pragmatism has probably served Pakistain better at this time, than the crusading gung-ho panache exhibited by his predecessors.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/31/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
