dispatches from the new world of work

WWI, or Web War One

The September issue of Wired is, as usual, chockablock with SWR—stuff worth reading. I was "taken" (mesmerized!) by "WWI," the story of last May's full-fledged cyberattack ("botnet attack") on Estonia, the most wired country in Europe. Among the savvy members of this Blog community, perhaps I'm the last to know the story—but the "imbedded journalist" (more or less) tale of the attack, a true attack on national sovereignty orchestrated by the Estonians moving a WWII Russian war memorial, was stunning in both the details and the implications thereof.

If you buy the journalists' story—and I can't see why one wouldn't—this was indeed WWI, and we are woefully unprepared, and in fact uninterested in being prepared on an appropriate scale, for what will doubtless be a Dark Black Swan in our collective futures, tomorrow at dawn or a decade from now. The results of said failure to prepare on an appropriate (BIG!) scale could be calamitous.

Sad to say, the lack of attentiveness to the cyberassault problem, like the ineffectualness of many of our anti-terrorist measures, heats up the "survivalist" in me—which ain't so pretty.

Tom Peters posted this on 08/20/07.

Comments

Survival indeed - & aggressive Russia is a new concern given vast oil & natural resource wealth - plus their KGB embedded governance culture - can a takeover of England, France & eastern Europe be part of their strategy - cyber 1st - then bricks & mortar? Washington Post article below.

Posted by John at August 21, 2007 11:10 AM

Could you link to the article in Wired? I have looked through the online edition and I can't find that article. Maybe it's just me...

Posted by Mike at August 22, 2007 2:29 PM

mike, we've looked but it doesn't appear to be online yet.

Posted by erik at August 23, 2007 7:24 AM

It was online earlier.

Posted by steve at August 24, 2007 8:10 PM

found it:
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/magazine/15-09/ff_estonia

Posted by erik at August 25, 2007 8:55 AM

Erik -- Arigato.

This really illustrates exactly the seriousness of the IT infrastructure security problems we all have as well as the inadequacy of our pols to see it and take action. (Frankly, I wouldn't vote for any of the current Rep or Dem candidates for dog catcher, let alone president!) It also illustrates the new Russian threat to world stability. It appears you can take the "new Russian" skin off an old Soviet KGB Director (Putin) and find he's not much changed underneath.

Posted by Mike at August 27, 2007 7:37 AM

mike, my pleasure.

Posted by erik at August 27, 2007 9:47 AM

The Wired article is written in a very sci-fi meets Shattered Glass (movie-bio about Stephen Glass).

Although a botnet attack of newspapers and ISPs seems realistic, some parts of the story seem very inventive. This is especially true when the author starts using every "Web 2.0" buzz word and referring to his techno-celebrity as "vetted".

Exciting to read but definitely stretching reality.

Posted by Aaron at September 8, 2007 1:03 PM