U.S.-Russia to Discuss Cyber SecurityDecember 17, 2009

 

cyber security

The United States and Russia are discussing ways to curb a growing international arms race in cyberspace, according to a New York Times article.

The two countries are working with a United Nations arms control committee to limit the military use of cyber weapons. The U.S. entry into these talks is a stark reversal after years of rejecting Russia's requests to open discussions. But it was inevitable after two years of Internet-based attacks on government and corporate computer networks that have increased to thousands per day.

Hackers, who can mask the attack's point of origin, have compromised Pentagon computers and pilfered corporate secrets.

Many countries, including the U.S., China, India and Russia, are developing weapons to attack computer networks connected to critical infrastructure like electrical power grids or government offices. These include "logic bombs" -- software buried in computers that activates on command to disable or destroy circuitry. Another threat: "botnets," which can spy on networks, and devices that can destroy circuits from miles away using microwave radiation.

The U.S. says that cyber security is an economic issue, while Russia maintains it must be controlled through treaties similar to those that have limited the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. But last month for the first time, the U.S. acknowledged the need to discuss these issues with a U.N. committee on disarmament and international security.

“In the last months there are more signs of building better cooperation between the U.S. and Russia,” Veni Markovski, a Washington-based adviser to Bulgaria’s Internet security chief and representative to Russia for the organization that assigns Internet domain names, told the Times. “These are signs that show the dangers of cybercrime are too big to be neglected.”

These discussions are to resume at the U.N. in January. Russia and the U.S. also plan talks at an annual Russia-sponsored Internet security conference in Garmisch, Germany.