Information Society Watch

September 5, 2007, The Economist

This article talks about the ever increasing instances of cyber-attacks on vital cyber installations by different countries. What makes the nature of these attacks so serious is the fact that as more and more countries go online, the Internet is increasingly being used by governments for transacting work and business, and any attack on these vital installations can leave the country vulnerable and cut off from the rest of the world. Specific instances of cyber attacks on a nation's infrastructure like the one by Russia on Estonia, have left that country completely paralysed, and although the Russian government claimed that it was the handiwork of certain disgruntled individuals, it was more or less established that the cyber-attack was conducted at the behest of the Kremlin. The latest incident of the alleged cyber-attack on the Pentagon by the Chinese government certainly clearly points the need for establishing a set of principles which govern the Internet and address such pressing issues.

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