## Unveiling the Shadows: The Digital Assaults Shaping Our World

A succession of events in the digital domain has brought into sharper relief the fragilities and the politics of the connected world. Whether in mass router attacks, government actions or cutting-edge cyber operations, actions in the cyber domain have highlighted both the realities on the technological infrastructure, and the questions of what is right, and what is legal, and, perhaps most pertinently, how the digital might be governed.

The Great Router Catastrophe: An Unprecedented Cyber Onslaught

It was one of the largest internet outages in US history, and not by accident. In late October, more than 600,000 internet routers went dark in a catastrophic hacking event. Rumoured to be the work of a shadowy actor, malware attacked the (allegedly) US-based internet service provider Windross, knocking out internet connectivity in several midwestern states. According to Black Lotus Labs, who were among the first to investigate the outage, using Chalubo malware the bad actor targeted routers, not only viewing the firmware but overwriting it, rendering it unusable, and leaving only a red light blinking a signal of the attack. The attack points to the hidden vulnerabilities that our digital infrastructure holds against the cleverness of adversaries.

Twisting Truths: The Pro-Israel AI Influence Campaign

Meta discovered, exposed, and terminated an AI-powered network planning a pro-Israel disinformation operation on many of the world’s major social media platforms. Linked to the Israeli company Stoic, the network had just begun to recruit a North American audience for the distribution of manipulated political messaging, as revealed through Stoic’s actions. Stoic’s behaviour highlights what’s going on behind the scenes of digital influence campaigns, increasingly powered by artificial intelligence and its ability to balance narratives of political reality with those of artificial persuasion.

Whistleblower Exposé: The Gaza Report Controversy

The honesty of government reports was called into question when a whistleblower leaked details of what he said was the Biden administration’s ‘doctoring’ of a key report about the role of US arms in Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. Stacy Gilbert, formerly head of the Pentagon’s civil-military dialogues and a senior civil-military adviser to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said the report was edited high up the chain to obscure Israel’s strangulation of vital supplies into Gaza to protect US arms sales. It’s a stunning example of the juxtaposition of national interests and humanitarian norms that raises serious ethical questions.

Dismantling the Botnet Beast: "Operation Endgame"

In this sense, ‘Operation Endgame’ was an exemplar of international cooperation as cyberspace law enforcement and cybersecurity organisations succeeded in putting out entire parts of the botnet universe. They targeted so-called malware droppers, the most common and important tool that cybercriminals use to install subsequent infections. More than 100 servers were seized and a host of arrests were made.

The PRO's Role in Defending Our Digital Domain

Making sense of what exactly happened when and why, and knowing what it may portend, is essential for the cyberpro – whether they’re beefing up the firewall against that latest malware assault, exposing a disinformation campaign or juggling the competing demands of a cyberoperation that might require access to sensitive data for noble purposes but would pose significant ethical dilemmas to do so. In each of these scenarios, the ‘pro’ sets up shop as the last line of defence against digital entropy – the last holdout for truth, decency and security in the digital wilderness.

At a time when computer intrusions can disrupt our infrastructure and our ability to make decisions, and exploit digital rights and freedoms to challenge notions of ethics, the pro is the employee of the internet who embodies the virtue of cyber resilience, who can use foresight, knowledge and a steadfast determination to implement policies that safeguard and promote digital rights and freedoms in order to steer the rocky digital ocean towards a safer, more secure shore for everyone.

At a time when so much of the world is being shaped by digital pulses, the need for the professional – the pro – to help us understand, secure and ethically influence the scope and dimension of cyberspace has never been greater. Whether it’s analysing a complex security breach, or advocating for greater transparency and ethics in cyber activities, the pro is a linchpin in the societal architecture and integrity of the 21st-century digital world. As cyber challenges grow, the resolve, skill and ethical judgement of these pros will illuminate our path forward, so that cyberspace remains a zone of opportunity rather than a playground for malevolence.