260
Burma
Cyber Attacks
Beyond Internet fi ltering, there are also frequent cyber attacks on Web sites that host
political content related to Burma, such as exiled independent Burmese media. These
are typically distributed denial of service (DDoS) or defacement attacks, and appear to
be politically motivated because the attacks are routinely launched on politically sensitive dates, such as the anniversary of the Saffron Revolution. It is widely believed that
such attacks are state sanctioned; however, direct evidence of state attribution remains
elusive. Nonetheless, attacks are consistent with the state ’ s demonstrated interest in
information control and censorship and are part of a pattern of ongoing attacks
against opposition groups.
82
On September 27, 2007, during the brutal crackdown on the Saffron Revolution,
attackers infected The Irrawaddy ’ s Web site with a Trojan virus, leaving the site inoperable.
83 Throughout 2008, persistent DDoS attacks on a number of Web sites belonging
to overseas news organizations as well as community forums rendered these Web sites
effectively inaccessible.
84 The September attacks coincided with the fi rst anniversary
of the Saffron Revolution. The DDoS attacks continued in 2009 and 2010.
85 Most
notable were the attacks launched on the Web site of Mizzima News on the 21st
anniversary of the 8888 Uprising (it was also reported that in the week leading up to
the anniversary, the Internet speed in the country had been slowed down considerably);
86 and the DDoS attacks on Mizzima News, The Irrawaddy, and the Democratic
Voice of Burma in September 2010. These attacks coincided with the anniversary of
the Saffron Revolution.
The Irrawaddy reported that the attack on its Web site originated from a Chinese
IP address and that the volume of the DDoS assault on its Web site was four Gbps —
three Gbps larger than the 2008 assault.
87 The attack on Mizzima News was six Gbps
and originated from China, Russia, the United States, and Turkey, while the attack on
the Democratic Voice of Burma occurred at 120 Mbps and originated from Georgia,
Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
88
On October 25, 2010, two weeks before the general election, MPT was subject to
large-scale DDoS attacks.
89 By November 2, the sophisticated attacks had rendered
Burma ’ s Internet inaccessible.
90 The volume of the DDoS attack was ten to 15 Gbps,
meaning that the attack transferred several hundred times more data than the 45 Mbps
that the Internet in Burma can support.
91 This attack was signifi cantly larger than the
instances of DDoS attacks in Estonia in 2007 (814 Mbps) and against Georgian Web
sites during the Russia-Georgia confl ict of 2008.
92 In addition to the impact on individual Internet users, hospitals, hotels, media, and Internet caf é s were also affected by
the attacks.
93 However, unlike 2007, when it was obvious that the government had
deliberately shut down the country ’ s Internet access, government involvement in the
case of the preelection DDoS attacks is unclear. International civil society groups
Burma
Cyber Attacks
Beyond Internet fi ltering, there are also frequent cyber attacks on Web sites that host
political content related to Burma, such as exiled independent Burmese media. These
are typically distributed denial of service (DDoS) or defacement attacks, and appear to
be politically motivated because the attacks are routinely launched on politically sensitive dates, such as the anniversary of the Saffron Revolution. It is widely believed that
such attacks are state sanctioned; however, direct evidence of state attribution remains
elusive. Nonetheless, attacks are consistent with the state ’ s demonstrated interest in
information control and censorship and are part of a pattern of ongoing attacks
against opposition groups.
82
On September 27, 2007, during the brutal crackdown on the Saffron Revolution,
attackers infected The Irrawaddy ’ s Web site with a Trojan virus, leaving the site inoperable.
83 Throughout 2008, persistent DDoS attacks on a number of Web sites belonging
to overseas news organizations as well as community forums rendered these Web sites
effectively inaccessible.
84 The September attacks coincided with the fi rst anniversary
of the Saffron Revolution. The DDoS attacks continued in 2009 and 2010.
85 Most
notable were the attacks launched on the Web site of Mizzima News on the 21st
anniversary of the 8888 Uprising (it was also reported that in the week leading up to
the anniversary, the Internet speed in the country had been slowed down considerably);
86 and the DDoS attacks on Mizzima News, The Irrawaddy, and the Democratic
Voice of Burma in September 2010. These attacks coincided with the anniversary of
the Saffron Revolution.
The Irrawaddy reported that the attack on its Web site originated from a Chinese
IP address and that the volume of the DDoS assault on its Web site was four Gbps —
three Gbps larger than the 2008 assault.
87 The attack on Mizzima News was six Gbps
and originated from China, Russia, the United States, and Turkey, while the attack on
the Democratic Voice of Burma occurred at 120 Mbps and originated from Georgia,
Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
88
On October 25, 2010, two weeks before the general election, MPT was subject to
large-scale DDoS attacks.
89 By November 2, the sophisticated attacks had rendered
Burma ’ s Internet inaccessible.
90 The volume of the DDoS attack was ten to 15 Gbps,
meaning that the attack transferred several hundred times more data than the 45 Mbps
that the Internet in Burma can support.
91 This attack was signifi cantly larger than the
instances of DDoS attacks in Estonia in 2007 (814 Mbps) and against Georgian Web
sites during the Russia-Georgia confl ict of 2008.
92 In addition to the impact on individual Internet users, hospitals, hotels, media, and Internet caf é s were also affected by
the attacks.
93 However, unlike 2007, when it was obvious that the government had
deliberately shut down the country ’ s Internet access, government involvement in the
case of the preelection DDoS attacks is unclear. International civil society groups