爱沙尼亚组织帮助北约进行网络防御

AS IT IS 2015-09-21 Group in Estonia Helps NATO’s Computer Defenses 爱沙尼亚组织帮助北约进行网络防御

Recently, hackers³ have attacked computer systems and then released information that many people thought was secure. This happened to the top leadership in the U.S. Defense¹ Department. Hackers gained entry to the email system of the Joint⁴ Chiefs of Staff’s office. Hackers also attacked a dating website and released the names of people seeking relations outside their marriage. This shocked the site's users, who thought the website was secure.

The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence⁵ is working to keep NATO online activities secure.

General Philip Breedlove is the top commander of the U.S. European Command. He said the Cyber Defense Center is working to keep computer technology safer for all of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The center provides cyber security defense and policy advice to interested NATO members.

"When it comes to the NATO networks and how we fight together as NATO, there are 28 doors to this alliance. If one of those doors is wide open, the alliance is wide open.”

The center also provides assistance to other partner countries, universities and even private businesses.

The general spoke⁶ last weekend at a NATO meeting in Turkey.

Financing for the center comes not from NATO, but from volunteer nations. Officials say the center’s work has played an important part in improving the alliance’s cyber-defense capabilities⁷.

Each year, the alliance carries out a war game in which NATO forces try to protect a make-believe country from cyber attack. The center provides the fake country’s computer network. Participating nations must repair and strengthen that network.

Lauri Aasmann is the chief of the center’s Law and Policy Branch. Mr. Aasmann says technology experts from different NATO countries are critical to defense building.

"We strongly believe that in order to build or have a good defense, you should understand how the attack works, how the offense⁸ works."

The center works out of an old building in the small country of Estonia. It may seem like an unusual choice for such an exercise. However, Estonia is among the best places in the world for Internet access. Wireless⁹ connections are available almost everywhere, even in unexpected places, like inside buses and or on a public beach.

A recent report by the non-profit group Freedom House rates Estonia second worldwide for Internet freedom. In comparison, the United States was fifth on that list.

In Estonia, banking¹⁰ is done mostly online. Estonians say they rarely carry money. Most government business is done electronically. But Estonians know from experience that a cyberattack on their Internet could cause huge problems.

A massive cyber attack in 2007 knocked out Internet access to banks, ministries¹¹, parliament and other organizations for days. The attack took place during Estonia’s dispute with Russia about the relocation of a marker called the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn. Many blamed the attack on Russia, which is Estonia's eastern neighbor.

Since then, Estonian officials have remained on guard to prevent and defeat cyber attacks against the country and its allies.

Words in This Story

hacker² – n. a person who secretly gets access to a computer to get information or cause damage; a person who hacks¹² a computer

capabilities – n. the ability to do something; abilities

fictitious¹³ – adj. not true; not real

critical – adj. extremely important

massive – adj. very severe; huge

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 hacker   

n.能盗用或偷改电脑中信息的人，电脑黑客

参考例句：

• The computer hacker wrote that he was from Russia.这个计算机黑客自称他来自俄罗斯。
• This site was attacked by a hacker last week.上周这个网站被黑客攻击了。

3 hackers   

n.计算机迷( hacker的名词复数 )；私自存取或篡改电脑资料者，电脑“黑客”

参考例句：

• They think of viruses that infect an organization from the outside.They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults. 他们考虑来自外部的感染公司的病毒，他们设想黑客侵入到信息宝库中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Arranging a meeting with the hackers took weeks againoff-again email exchanges. 通过几星期电子邮件往来安排见面，他们最终同意了。 来自互联网

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

9 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

10 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

11 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

12 hacks   

黑客

参考例句：

• But there are hacks who take advantage of people like Teddy. 但有些无赖会占类似泰迪的人的便宜。 来自电影对白
• I want those two hacks back here, right now. 我要那两个雇工回到这儿，现在就回。 来自互联网

13 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。