Cyber Attack: When the War Goes Digital A Growing Threat to Ethiopia

Ethiopia is facing a growing number of cyber attacks in recent months, according to Information Network Security Agency (INSA).

INSA, which is one of the several wings of the national defense forces, is mandated to protect the cyber sphere of the nation. The agency states that it has been deterring cyber attacks aimed at different interests of the nation since its establishment in 2006/07.

According to the agency, it was able to prevent more than 400 cyber attacks that originate from domestic and outside sources in 2012. Most of the attacks targeted key public organizations.

According to the data released by INSA, the number of cyber attacks on the nation has reached more than sixty in the last quarter of 2012 alone. Following this, the agency has been striving to protect public establishments on an organizational and national level. According to information availabe on agency’s website institutions which encounter such problems can report to the agancy.

Cyber warfare refersred as a politically motivated hacking to conduct sabotage and espionage is dubbed as the fifth domain of warfare by The Economist, British weekly. And the pentagon has formally recognized cyberspace as a new domain in warfare and it has become just as critical to military operations as land, sea, air, and space.

Recently news of cyber attacks and counter attacks, allegations and denials have become common. Governmental and non governmental organization that range from the energy department of the US to Facebook, Twitter, banks and newspapers have all said to have been a victim of cyber attack, China and Iran being the usual suspects even though they continue to rebuff the accusations.