Private Measures. Non-governmental entities play major roles in the cyber security arena. Technical standards for the Internet (including current and next-generation versions of the Internet Protocol) are developed and proposed by the privately controlled Internet Engineering Task Force (“IETF”); the Web Consortium, housed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, defines technical standards for the Web. While the IETF was originally composed entirely of U.S. members, funded by and working for the U.S. govern- ment, it is today staffed entirely by volunteers, including network operators, academics, employees of private companies and government representatives. It establishes standards on a consensus basis. Membership and operations have become increasingly international, reflecting the growing interest of scholars, businesses, and governments throughout the world in the standard setting process. Other privately controlled entities that play significant operational roles on aspects of cyber security include the major telecommunications carriers, Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”), and many other organizations, including: • The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (“FIRST”), which attempts to coordinate the activities of both government and private Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTs”) and is also working on cyber security standards; 13While state-sponsored attacks are often difficult to detect, for more than a decade states have used cyber warfare in retaliation to physical warfare or acts of aggression. In 1999, after a NATO jet bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, the Chinese Red Hacker Alliance launched a cyber assault on U.S. government websites. See Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx. Trojans, Worms and Spyware (NY: Xxxxxxxxxxx-Xxxxxxxx, 2005), 175. During the Second Chechen War, both sides engaged in cyber warfare with the Russian Federal Security Service responsible for knocking out key Chechen websites while Russian Troops engaged Chechen terrorists holding Russian civilians hostage. See Xxxxxx, Xxxx. Mass Media and Modern Warfare: Reporting on the Russian War on Terror- ism (UK: Ashgate Publishing, 2010). During the Russia-Georgia war of 2008, the coinciding cyber assault was state-sponsored on both sides. There are suspicions that Iran and North Korea frequently promote state-sponsored cyberattacks though definitive evi- dence is often lacking. See Xxxx, Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxx. Inside Cyber Warfare: Mapping the Cyber Underworld (Cambridge: O’Reilly Inc...
