What the Syrian internet outage tells us about the ultimate dual-use technology

By Irving Lachow

Best Defense cyberwar correspondent

Last week, a front page story
in the Washington Post began:
"Syria's civil war went offline Thursday as millions of people tracking the
conflict over YouTube, Facebook and other high-tech services found themselves
struggling against an unnerving national shutdown of the Internet." Despite
denials from the Syrian government, there is strong evidence that they were in
fact responsible for this attempt at isolating the country from the global
information commons. This was most likely accomplished by the state-run Syrian
Internet service provider called Telecommunications Establishment, which
appeared to have altered
its routing tables to prevent both incoming and outgoing
traffic from reaching its desired destinations. Although the timing of this
action may have been sudden, the fact that the Syrian government would attempt
to control rebel access to the Internet
is not surprising. Egypt and Libya took similar actions during recent conflicts
and Syria has been controlling access to the Internet on and off for many
months.

Much like traditional warfare, the kind of
cyberwarfare being promulgated by Syria is being driven by attempts to dominate
the information sphere. For example, one of the first actions taken by the
United States in its wars with Iraq was to dismantle their command and control
systems. This provided the United States with freedom of action and reduced the
ability of Iraqi forces to obtain accurate and timely situation awareness of
the battlefield. Syria is trying to accomplish similar objectives. Limiting the
rebels' access to the Internet and mobile communications is akin to blinding
their command and control systems. By forcing rebels to rely on local Internet
services provided by Syrian companies, the Syrian government can closely
monitor rebel communications to obtain intelligence and situation awareness. In
addition, the Syrian government can use the Internet to plant false information
and undermine trust within the ranks of rebel leadership -- a classic
psychological operations tactic for creating fear, uncertainty, and distrust
within enemy ranks.

In response to the Syrian government's actions,
the Syrian rebels have been using satellite phones -- equipment supplied to
them by supporters that include the United States -- to maintain their lines of
communication and connectivity to the Internet. The rebels may also be able to
tap into the wireless networks of neighboring countries when they operate close
to the border -- a fact which shows how difficult it is to implement a full
Internet blackout in a country, even one as small and centrally-controlled as
Syria. They are also continuing their efforts to influence outside parties by
using videos, pictures, and other social media tools to tell their side of the
story. As in many conflicts, the battle here is not just over territory but
over who controls the narrative.

Events in Syria, Libya, and Egypt have
demonstrated that the Internet has become a critical tool for combatants
engaged in civil wars and uprisings. It provides command and control,
surveillance and reconnaissance, and serves as a means of influencing supporters,
opponents, and neutral third parties alike. At the same time, the fact that the
Syrian government reestablished Internet connectivity just a few days after
implementing a nation-wide blackout makes it clear that national leaders cannot
simply shut off access to the Internet without repercussions. The Internet has
become a tool of influence and warfare, but it is also a driver of commerce and
social connectivity. Internet service providers can function as businesses that
enable economic and personal freedom and they can chose (or be forced to)
repress free speech, monitor "enemies of the state," and disconnect an entire
country from the global communications grid. The Internet may be the ultimate
dual-use technology. We will be dealing with that fact for decades to come.

Dr. Irving
Lachow
is a senior fellow and director of the Program on Technology and National
Security at the Center for a New American Security.