Misunderstanding Cyberwar in Georgia

(Ethan Zuckerman is a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society and a co-founder of Global Voices Online. He wrote the following commentary for Reuters.com. The opinions expressed are his own.)

By Ethan Zuckerman

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. (Reuters.com) - There's nothing like the term "cyberwar" to capture a reader's attention.

For those who grew up on "Wargames", "Sneakers" or William Gibson novels, the term conjures up images of heroic hackers in shadowy basements, frantically tapping on keyboards in a life and death struggle against the enemy on the other side of the glowing CRT screen.

It's a vision that was compelling to senior people in the US Air Force, including former USAF Secretary Michael Wynne, who was fired earlier this year over the scandal of mishandled nuclear weapons. Before his departure, Wynne launched the Air Forces's "Cyberspace Command" with a television ad that portrayed the Air Force as the defender of the Pentagon against an onslaught of digital attacks.

The Pentagon has stopped funding and now may cancel the initiative. Wynne argues that the current military faceoff between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia is an instance of cyberwar, saying "The Russians just shot down the government command nets so they could cover their incursion.

This was really one of the first aspects of a coordinated military action that had cyber as a lead force, instead of sending in air planes."

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That's the sort of speculation tech reporters live for. It raises the possibility that, instead of reporting on venture capital deals and the kudzu-like spread of Facebook, they might get the chance to be war reporters without the complication of being shot at.

In the past week, in-depth articles on cyberwar have graced the pages of the Washington Post, the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Salon. The best of these articles have a common conclusion: it's very hard to know what's actually gone on.

Call it "the fog of cyberwar". Better yet, please don't.

As the dust settles, it's unclear whether "cyberwar" is even an appropriate term for what's taken place online as an actual war - the kind with guns and dead people - has transpired in Georgia.

It's worth remembering that in this "cyberwar", the most serious consequence is that a website becomes temporarily inaccessible to viewers.

It's a war being fought with paintballs, not with live rounds.

Here's what's known: many Georgian websites have been difficult or impossible to access for several days. In response, the Georgian government has moved some vital email addresses and websites to Google, and other Georgian websites have sought help from Estonia.

Here's what's not known: whether these attacks were directed by the Russian military, as Georgia's Foreign Minister has speculated, by shadowy criminal gangs, or just by kids with a grudge against Georgia and too much free time.