The virtual battlefield : perspectives on cyber warfare

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Geers K., Czosseck C., IOS PRESS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2009. 328 pp.  
Type: Book
Date Reviewed: May 12 2010
Reviewer:  James Van Speybroeck

This third volume in the “Cryptology and Information Security” series investigates the benefits and perils of cyberspace--what hackers refer to as the “attack surface.”

The list of contributors reads as a who’s who list, with experts from all facets of cyberspace research. The book is a compendium of research papers presented at the 2009 Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCD COE) Conference in Tallinn, Estonia. In general, the conference focuses on “the relationship between computer security and national security.”

The book is divided into two parts: “Strategic Viewpoints” (13 papers) and “Technical Challenges and Solutions” (eight papers). Part 1 describes the cyber world, including its anatomy, definition, and constituents. The topics discussed constitute a 21st century Hydra. It is virtually impossible to examine one part of the cyber world and cyber battlefield without opening a Pandora’s box of related issues. This section includes papers on terrorism; boundary violations in a world where there are no boundaries; definitions of new domains; politically motivated cyber wars; the effect of government censorship on cyber attacks; and the impact of media coverage on the cyber battlefield.

Part 2 details methods for fighting against the use of the cyber world to disrupt and sabotage private and industrial systems. Its papers deal with “zombie armies”--computers that have been infected by viruses; when cyber law cannot keep up with computer evolution; the dangers of exposing corrupted computer systems too soon, before the nature of the crimes are studied; and different types of attacks, including the effects on business operations.

This excellent compendium is by authors who have in-depth knowledge of the covered areas. Any computer security professional should have this book in his or her library.

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