This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race

by Nicole Perlroth

Starting in late September, U.S. Cyber Command started hacking into TrickBot’s command and control, feeding its infected computers a set of instructions that sent them into an endless loop. It was the equivalent of a phone dialing its own number over and over and over again so that anyone else trying to get through would get a busy signal. TrickBot’s operators were able to reclaim their computers in half a day. But roughly a week later, Cyber Command struck again, hitting TrickBot’s systems with the same attack as before. This time too the disruption was temporary. But it was also a message, similar to the one General Nakasone’s cyber troops sent the Internet Research Agency in the days leading up to the midterms: We are watching you, we are inside, and we will take you out if you come for our election. (As the election approached, we learned that Cyber Command launched a similar attack on the Iranian hackers behind the Proud Boys campaign, hindering their ability to conduct more attacks.)