Russia vs Ukraine

The media has been abuzz with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine over the past month.  An article in the Washington Post on March 16 mentioned that Putin has 60,000 troops waiting just outside the border of Ukraine.  The physical war may not have begun, but the cyber war has...

The soldiers of cyber war can be anyone, anywhere.  These soldiers of war don't necessarily wear a uniform and may not have sworn allegiance to one country or another.  These soldiers don't carry traditional weapons, these soldiers have tools to inflict denial of service attacks or website defacement.  Their goal is to stop the operation of critical web servers and cause panic to the masses.  The internet sites of the Russian Kremlin, foreign ministry, central bank and Ria Novosti (the press agency) were targeted and attacked.


The real problem with cyberwarfare is that the attackers.   The soldiers can be anyone.  There are tools on the internet (such as TOR) that anonymizes the attacker.  When the attacker's identity and location are hidden the entity being attacked doesn't know who is responsible.  Furthermore, attackers can use bots to carry out denial of service attacks.

Cyberwarfare has great potential to impact innocent bystanders and those who should not be impacted.   The Geneva Convention and Hague Conventions provide for humanitarian law that is designed to limit armed conflict which is known as International Humanitarian Law.  Specific requirements:

 "Parties to a conflict and members of their armed forces do not have an unlimited choice of methods and means of warfare. It is prohibited to employ weapons or methods of warfare of a nature to cause unnecessary losses or excessive suffering."

 "Parties to a conflict and members of their armed forces do not have an unlimited choice of methods and means of warfare. It is prohibited to employ weapons or methods of warfare of a nature to cause unnecessary losses or excessive suffering."

Are civilians impacted by cyberwar?  Undeniably, yes. 


References:  http://www.icrc.org/eng/war-and-law/overview-war-and-law.htm

We took an oath...

I was reminded today by a fellow federal employee that I took an oath when I started my federal career.  That oath from 5 U.S.C. §3331 follows...

 I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

The history of the Oath for Federal employees can be traced to the Constitution, where Article II includes the specific oath the President takes - to "preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."  The wording of the oath was originally called the Ironclad Test Oath which was  developed during the Civil War.  The oath is required for government officials from all three branches, the military, and the States.

If you are an employee paid by the funds collected from all taxpayers I urge you to remember that oath to pursue the best interests of the government.