Inside the enemy's computer
Subtitle: identifying cyber-attackers
By: Clement Guitton
Publisher: Oxford University Press; Hurst & Company
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 304
ISBN-13: 9781849045544; 9780190699994
Copyright date: 2017
Subjects: Cyberterrorism; Prevention; Hackers
Other titles: Identifying cyber-attackers
Description: Attribution -- tracing those responsible for a cyber attack -- is of primary importance when classifying it as a criminal act, an act of war, or an act of terrorism. Three assumptions dominate current thinking: attribution is a technical problem; it is unsolvable; and it is unique. Approaching attribution as a problem forces us to consider it either as solved or unsolved. Yet attribution is far more nuanced, and is best approached as a process in constant flux, driven by judicial and political pressures. In the criminal context, courts must assess the guilt of criminals, mainly based on technical evidence. In the national security context, decision-makers must analyse unreliable and mainly non-technical information in order to identify an enemy of the state. Attribution in both contexts is political: in criminal cases, laws reflect society's prevailing norms and power; in national security cases, attribution reflects a state's will to maintain, increase or assert its power. However, both processes differ on many levels. The constraints, which reflect common aspects of many other political issues, constitute the structure of the book: the need for judgement calls, the role of private companies, the standards of evidence, the role of time, and the plausible deniability of attacks.--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-289) and index.
Table of contents: title: Modelling attribution. Attribution by the executive: a set of conditions for the model; Two attribution processes: characteristics and deployed resources; title: Reliance on judgement. Attribution as an inescapable judgement call; Political implications: authority and trust; title: Standards of proof. domestic and international legal standards for attribution: a mismatch; State sponsorship: malleable standards and misleading criteria; title: Private companies. Three factors used to undermine companies' credibility; A significant role on the international scene; title: Time. Measurable time: efforts to reduce it; Time in terms of context for national security incidents; title: Plausible deniability. Sources of plausible deniability; Strategic considerations for warranting plausible deniability.