Preventing cyber attacks

The warning by Army Commander Lt Gen Jagath Jayasuriya of the possibility of Sri Lanka being the target for a cyber attack in the near future should be taken with the seriousness it deserves. The consequences of such an eventuality would be even more devastating than a direct war.

For, what we will be confronted with will be is a hidden enemy not with state-of-the-art weapons but who uses insidious and surreptitious means to cause damage and destruction. We see such a phenomenon unravelling in the unrest and uprisings now sweeping the Middle East where once strong nations who stood against the might of the West are today falling apart.

It is significant that cyber technology such as social networkings was the catalyst that brought the masses on to the streets in Tunisia and Egypt. There is all likelihood of the cyber being exploited and used extensively by those bent on undermining states to realize their sinister agendas, emboldened by what is happening in the Middle East.

Delivering the keynote address on Strategic Dimension of Cyber Warfare in Colombo Lt Gen Jayasuriya said that although there is no room to wage war to physically devastate the nation there is yet ample room to launch a cyber war through cyber space against Sri Lanka that could be as destructive.

Movie buffs who are familiar with the James Bond genre would equally be familiar with their storyline where the villain always uses some ingenious method to harm a nation through a secret weapon or technological devise. There were the instances where such villains who are usually portrayed as megalomaniacs conceiving a weapon or devise to sabotage some space program of the British Government or destroy some Western target. Such deeds are carried out with a degree of sophistication throwing off the scent from the real villain. It was left to James Bond to trace and destroy the villain and his organisation.

We are of course talking about fiction and of an era where these evil designs were conceived only in the mind with no real threat of this actually happening. But it is no longer fiction today in this day and age and in today's context where ingenious technology is within the grasp of all and sundry to wreak more havoc and destruction than devised by a fictitious Blofield or a Scaramanga of the Bond movies. What is more, this technology can be used by hostile nations to harm and undermine others and at the same time leaving no trace of their evil doings.

We have already seen the damage caused by Internet hackers and the unravelling of State secrets of the US Government through deft cyber manipulation by a whiz kid which embarrassed and undermined the integrity of Uncle Sam.

Significantly Lt Gen Jayasuriya also pointed to the vulnerability of our banks and other important State institutions to cyber attacks. He said "irreparable damage could be caused to a nation if the servers that includes financial information of institutions such as banks which are connected to cyber space are attacked. Not just financial institutions, cyber attacks could also be used to undermine the economy of the country using the information garnered".

Therefore, like the Army Chief said there needs to be a combined effort to combat any cyber threat on vulnerable targets with the participation of service providers, the banking, manufacturing sector and the Armed Forces. As is well-known Sri Lanka did not make many friends following the single-minded purpose of President Rajapaksa to end the war through military means. There are many Western nations who felt slighted by the snub of the Lankan Head of State, who must be waiting to get even with Sri Lanka and who could deploy many surreptitious means yet to undermine its sovereignty.

These may take many forms with the cyber too being a major tool. Therefore like the Army Chief said there is need for guarding against such attacks by taking our own counter measures.

The Government should appoint a high-powered committee comprising technocrats and entrust them with the task of combatting the latest threat. We can even obtain help from friendly countries to assist us in this quest.

Enemies of Sri Lanka are bound to use insidious ways to harm it now that the country is gradually reaching stability which would not be to the liking of some. As already mentioned the unravelling scenes in the Middle East is a pointer to what could be expected. Here too it is no secret that cyber technology was used extensively with many behind the scene operators.