The War Next Time

Dateline: Sunday, May 1, 2011: News Slug: Barack Obama gets Osama bin Laden as the world’s most wanted terror is killed. Evidence (as claimed by the attackers who carried out the raid): blood stained floor; broken tail of a helicopter. Further evidence: body; concealed, buried at sea. The rest is history. And so will it be for a long, long time to come.

But the important point here is that all these were physical attacks. The location is or was well known: Abbottabad, Pakistan. The building on which the raid was carried out, was in the eyes and minds of billions of people across the world for weeks after the raid. The waters tainted by the diplomatic squabble that followed the attack – between the United States and Pakistan, are yet to become clear enough for drinking. Again, the important point to note here is that all this is physical and can be seen and traced quite easily. Just as the destruction of the New York Twin Towers was physical and brutally carried out by al Qaeda.

Yet, while there is still time for chest-thumping over the successful decimation of the man linked to the attack on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on September 11, 2011, in which at least 3,000 precious lives were lost – no one is really worrying too much about the economic losses, as these can’t reach even but one soul lost – Mr. Obama is turning the heat on an entirely different direction. It’s still the fight against terrorism; but, terrorism of a different genre: cyber terrorism.

Here are some latest headlines: US Pentagon to treat cyber-attacks as ‘acts of war;’ ‘Cyber War: US to go all out;’ ‘'Cyber attacks are an act of war'; pentagon to announce new rules of engagement against state sponsored hackers.’ Indeed, they’ve been many more headlines; and they will be many, many more to follow as the days go by.

Why is the United States so worried about cyber attacks? Because that is the next turf for war, any real war; but this war, a war almost without end, will be a war with little or no arms at all – at least not so much as we see today or in the days gone by. Yet, this war promises to be far more devastating in impact, upon human and environment, if one may say, than all the two World Worlds put together.

Just imagine a war without boundaries; a war where you can hardly pinpoint your enemies or enemy lines; a war in which the adversary could be just next door, or it could be several thousands of kilometres away. Yet, it is a war whose devastating impact will hit you in much the same way whether the enemy lies in the next street, or in another continent.

The US is one country where proactive reasoning is almost second nature. It is no wonder that they are taking cyber attacks and cyber terrorism very seriously; and they are planning very tenaciously on tackling the attacks whose coming is imminent.

Outside of the US, perhaps only the United Kingdom has spoken out quite loudly about cyber attacks. Foreign Secretary, William Hague, screamed on one headline: ‘UK is under cyber attack,’ because "a malicious file was sent to a defence contractor."

There’ve been quite a number of other headlines to make any country serious about its security, to stop and ponder:

Hackers hit 'at least five oil and gas firms: Hackers have run rampant through the networks of at least five oil and gas firms for years, reveals a report. Compiled by security firm McAfee, it details the methods and techniques the hackers used to gain access to the unnamed multinational firms.

Cisco predicts internet device boom: Cisco expressed its worry at rapid growth in the face of finite capacity. The number of internet connected devices is set to explode in the next four years to over 15 billion - twice the world's population by 2015.

Technology giant Cisco predicts the proliferation of tablets, mobile phones, connected appliances and other smart machines will drive this growth. The company said consumer video will continue to dominate internet traffic. It predicts that by 2015, one million minutes of video will be watched online every second.

Internet-based attacks on critical systems rise: Most countries said they expected a cyber attack to disrupt energy supplies within the next two years

Cyber-sabotage and espionage top 2011 security fears: Industry insiders say cyber attacks will increase in 2011. The biggest security concerns for the coming year will be cyber-sabotage and cyber-espionage, say industry experts.

'Cyber attacks are an act of war':  Pentagon to announce new rules of engagement against state sponsored hackers. America may retaliate with military force against countries that sabotage its computers, according to the Pentagon’s first ever strategy on how to fight escalating cyber attacks.

Anxious to contend with growing internet incursions linked to Russia and China, U.S. military chiefs have reportedly agreed that the most serious sabotage attempts should constitute an act of war.

Foreign Secretary William Hague: A malicious file was sent to a defence contractor: Attempts by cyber-criminals and hostile intelligence agencies to attack the British government have been outlined by the foreign secretary.

These are just some of the thousands of reports dotting the news space across the world.

Surely you remember Julian Assange of Wikileaks fame. He can be described as one man-riot squad, who, without being a cyber criminal as such – because he is a journalist and well identified – took the battle to the most powerful country on earth: the United States of America, by exposing what would ordinarily be regarded as the topmost of official secrets.

While the tool he applies is the internet, he does not work like the cyber terrorist or cyber attackers, who actually compromise databases, computers, networks and the likes, of companies, multinationals or countries. But the ability of Wikileaks to get at information that is otherwise secret, and using the internet, put it in the public domain is or should be enough pointer to every country that the avowed cyber criminal or cyber terrorist can be far more dangerous than anyone can imagine.

And, that is the simple reason America is not taking things lying low. The country is taking steps well ahead, to protect its environment, its government, its citizens and its installations anywhere they may be in the world. Because, cyber terrorism is the next war line; and, you never know your enemy until you have been done in.

So, as this war stares us all in the face, where is our preparation draft? We don’t even have a thought about it yet, let alone a draft programme? Really? I thought in these days and times when we all talk about Information Technology being at the heart of everything we do, we will also recognise such danger – such clear and present danger? No? We don’t? What a pity!

So, what did our dear President Goodluck Jonathan mean when he gave marching order for the implementation of an ICT Action Plan at the e-Nigeria Summit last year at the official launch of the Information and Communications Technology for Development, ICT4D plan document? These were some of his words:

“We must bear in mind that this document cannot implement itself. “It requires that stakeholders should embark on specific actions and initiatives as outlined in the plan for us to achieve the desired objective of mainstreaming ICT into our national development agenda.”

On the part of the government I direct that all ministries, departments, and agencies should commence immediate implementation of areas of the Nigerian ICT4D plan that are relevant to their respective mandates.”

Well, he was represented by Science and Technology Minister, Mohammed Abubakar. So, does that mean those were not his words? Certainly the minister couldn’t have been quoting someone else.

But even if those words were not enough to show that indeed, President Jonathan is aware of the ferocious and rampaging threats via the internet and those who concern themselves with out – for good and bad, just as he is aware of how the internet is being used for economic development, it is a bare fact that for his campaign for the last Presidential Election, in which he won and is now serving that term of four years, President Jonathan launched his campaign on Facebook.

Unless the Nigerian president is only playing to the gallery; otherwise, the world should begin to see him as 21st Century President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; one who is in tune with the times; one who knows that cyber space is the next battlefield; and one who prepares for it. If he is short of examples, there is no better one than in the Obama case cited above.

As for the right brains to use, they are more than enough in Nigeria, enough to equal the populations of at least five countries – all experts in IT. Unless we are waiting to be attacked; hit below the belt, then we begin our usual fire brigade approach. This Jonathan should not be counted among such poorly prepared leaders with neither insights nor foresights. The ball is in his IT court!