Attacks on cyberspace preceded Russian tanks

AT least a week before Russian tanks rolled into Georgia, the country had already come under attack on another front -- in cyberspace.

Emphasising the increasing importance of the digital battlefield in modern warfare, Western internet experts said cyber attacks against Georgia's internet infrastructure might have begun as early as July 20, well before Russia began its aggressive campaign against its former satellite.

Researchers at the US-based Shadowserver Foundation reported seemingly coordinated attacks against strategic Georgian websites. The site of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili was attacked late last month and the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs site became a target late last week.

Known as distributed denial of service -- or D.D.O.D. -- attacks, the online assault involved millions of simultaneous hits on the sites, which overloaded Georgian servers, causing them to crash.

It remains unclear whether the attacks had been orchestrated by the Russian Government or independent Russian "hacktivists".

Georgia was quick to accuse the Russian Government for the collapse of its servers.

"A cyber warfare campaign by Russia is seriously disrupting many Georgian websites," the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Kremlin denied the accusations. "On the contrary, a number of internet sites belonging to the Russian media and official organisations have fallen victim to concerted hacker attacks," a spokesman said. Regardless of who perpetrated the attacks, however, it was likely they would prompt debates in the West about how the laws of war might apply to a digital age.

It was the first time a known cyber attack had coincided with a shooting war; experts warned it was unlikely to be the last.

Speaking to Sky News, McAfee security analyst Greg Day said international cyber espionage posed a significant threat to national security.

"We can expect to see cyber attacks being increasingly used as a weapon," he said.

"As well as being a critical resource for government ministries, the internet also plays an important role in the running of countries and this disruption can damage economies."

Russian bloggers have meanwhile proven to be as industrious as those behind the attacks on the websites. This week, they manipulated the results of a global poll on the CNN site, which asked whether Russia's actions in Georgia were justified.

Ninety-two per cent of respondents -- more than 329,000 people -- answered "yes" after news of the poll found its way into the Russian blogosphere. Bloggers quickly disseminated the information, encouraging their readers to visit the website and skew the vote.

Many members of Russia's press corps have taken to the blogosphere as well, albeit for different reasons.

Mikhail Romanoff, a reporter with the New Times of Moscow, has been using the blogging service LiveJournal to publish his reflections from the frontline.