10 easy steps to writing the scariest cyberwarfare article ever

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Richard Forno <rforno () infowarrior org>
Date: April 14, 2009 7:29:13 AM EDT
To: Undisclosed-recipients: <>;
Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: 10 easy steps to writing the scariest cyberwarfare article ever

(That is one of the most brilliant assessments about media cyberwar  
coverage I've seen in the MSM in a long time.  Frankly I'm surprised  
it showed up in Foreign Polocy and not in some of the "hacker"- 
oriented security sites I frequent. Excellent post! ---rf)


10 easy steps to writing the scariest cyberwarfare article ever
Evgeny Morozov
Sat, 04/11/2009 - 5:57am

http://neteffect.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/04/11/writing_the_scariest_article_about_cyberwarfare_in_10_easy_steps

With daily reports of severe breaches in national cybersecurity and  
devastating cyber-attacks on government infrastructure, many  
journalists are in dire need of a manual to enlighten their writing on  
the subject. Here are my ten(rather cynical) tips to make your  
cyberwarfare story succeed.

1. You need a catchy title. It pays to cannibalize on some recent  
tragic event from the real world; adding "cyber" to its name would  
usually trigger all the right associations. Studies show that  
references to "digital Pearl Harbor","cyber-Katrina", and "electronic  
9/11" are most effective, particularly for stories involving  
electricity grids or dams. Never make any explicit attempts to explain  
the bizarre choice of your title– you need to leave enough ambiguity  
out there for your readers to "connect the dots" themselves. This is a  
win-win: readers love solving important cyberspy puzzles - and you  
could get away without doing any analysis of your own. Quoting real  
facts would spoil the puzzle-solving experience; plus, the fewer facts  
you quote, the harder it would be to debunk your story!

2. Begin the story in Estonia, with a reference to its 2007 attacks;  
make sure to play up the “E-stonia” tune and how the entire country  
was under online siege for a month (never mention that rioting in the  
Estonian streets was much more devastating and that the actual online  
siege lasted for twenty minutes at best). Setting the story in Estonia  
would also help to play up the Soviet threat that never really left  
the country. Blame NATO's impotence, praise Skype's genius, quote non- 
existent local Web entrepreneurs who lost all their savings in the  
2007cyber-attacks.

3. Drop references to the evil Chinese hackers in every paragraph (in  
every sentence, if it's an article about GhostNet) . Don't forget to  
mention that cyberwarfare was first explained by Sun Tzu and has been  
part of the Chinese military tradition since the Shang dynasty. Make  
unverifiable claims about the tacit support that the Chinese  
government has offered to its nationalist hackers. Find and quote a  
Chinese blogger who can't log-in to his blog; quote from a recent  
Pentagon review of China's military power to explain why this may all  
be part of China's grand cyberwarfare strategy.

4. Mention the cyber-pranks of as many Kremlin-affiliated youth  
movements as you can, all the better if they are obscure or only exist  
on paper. Anyone whose last name ends in "-ov" or "-ev" qualifies as a  
Kremlin bigwig; use their every sneeze as an extremely accurate  
articulation of Kremlin's own thinking on cyberwarfare. Keep  
referencing shady Russian outlets like the Russian Business Network;  
the fact that they have not been in the news in 2007 only proves they  
are doing a great job in the cyber-underground.

5. Find and quote industry experts with the biggest possible conflicts  
of interest – preferably those who make their living thanks to the  
public paranoia about cybersecurity. Make sure you give them enough  
space to quote their latest anti-virus solutions and consulting  
services. Since nobody important would talk to you on the record  
anyway, nobody expects your quotes to add any value to the article.  
Remember: it's all about the metaphors. Ideally, find "unbiased"  
experts who have never been to Estonia or Georgia, don't know the  
language, have gathered no data of their own, but who think that  
cyberwar is going to destroy us all (unless their firm is selected to  
help us save us from the evil hackers).

6. If you don't have any new facts to warrant yet another story on the  
subject, go and recycle old facts, quotes, and official statements;  
you are allowed to go back as early as 1997. In the worst case, give a  
call to some disgruntled dissident group with an ax to grind and ask  
if they feel threatened by the Chinese hackers (bonus points if you  
manage to find someone scared of Burma's junta); if they aren't, make  
sure to infect them with Conficker and call back shortly. Otherwise,  
call BBC to learn how to rent a botnet, pay for it with your corporate  
credit card, and launch a full-blown attack on some high-profile site,  
preferably the one that belongs to the dissident group you spoke to.  
Document your every step.

8. If you are still having trouble working the Chinese or the Russian  
governments into your story, why not throw in some geopolitical  
kerfuffle that involves a country located in between? Not only would  
it implicate both governments, it would also make cyberspace seem  
relevant to geopolitics. I suggest you settle on Kyrgyzstan, as it  
would also help to make a connection to the US military bases; there  
is no better story than having Russian and Chinese hackers oust the US  
from Kyrgyzstan via cyber-attacks. Bonus points for mentioning  
Azerbaijan and the importance of cyberwarfare to the politics of the  
Caspian oil; in the worst case, Kazakhstan would do as well. Never  
mention any connectivity statistics for the countries you are writing  
about: you don't want readers to start doubting that someone might be  
interested in launching a cyberwar on countries that couldn't care  
less about the Internet.

9. Anything involving cyberwar between Israel and Palestine is fair  
game, no matter how old and how unrelated to cyberwarfare. Don't  
forget to mention "e-Palestine" as an example of a nation in cyber- 
exile; throw in occasional references to Israeli Web start-ups.  
Eventually, blame everything on the growing appreciation of cyberspace  
by Iran's mullahs or at least local branch of Hamas (also –Hezbollah).  
The big prize is alluding to a secretive summer camp on cyberwarfare,  
where hackers from Russia, China, Iran, and Israel get together to  
share tricks.

10. Make sure to mention that NSA,CIA, and DIA are all involved in the  
case, but they cannot comment. Play up the inter-agency squabble and  
mention that the military types are angry with the spies– and vice  
versa. Mention that the Pentagon has already been attacked a gazillion  
times; blame everything on Rumsfeld and his penchant for network- 
centric warfare (no need to explain it; networks=attacks, for most  
readers anyway).Include a silly but long quote from a government  
insider, preferably someone who has been out of the Pentagon or the  
CIA for twenty years and has never seen a computer. Now is the good  
time to end the piece with a reference to a bipartisan report on  
cybersecurity from a Washington think-tank, predict Obama's failure to  
rule in cyberspace,and mention that Al-Queada recruits online. Bingo!


Mail it in – and wait to hear from the Pulitzer committee. I bet half  
of your readers would never want to use a computer again.



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