"Cyber-warfare is not becoming the threat of the future, it already is," said Estonian Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo. Estonia endured the first publicized high-profile cyberattack during April and May 2007 when hackers crippled the country by attacking government, bank, political party, newspaper and company Web sites, following the move of a famous Soviet monument.

Hackers used a denial-of-service technique that involves using computers that have been infected with a virus to simultaneously request data from a certain Web site, causing that site to break down. They used millions of computers from as far away as the United States, Canada, Brazil and Vietnam, according to an Estonian government official.

The assault, which was originally thought to be carried out by Russia, was eventually traced back to a handful of Estonian students of Russian ethnicity, one of whom was fined $1,620 for his part in the attack last month, a sentence Aaviksoo denounced. "The fine was too much for him," he said. "I understand his emotions."

The Estonian attack raised awareness around the world of a growing problem. Last year the Pentagon drew up a report claiming that China might have a plan in place for a cyberattack that would cripple U.S. aircraft carrier battle troops. China has previously been accused of hacking into U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' computer, other high-level Pentagon computers and the German government's system.

This new breed of crime could also be used to achieve political ends.

"Cyberattacks are analogues to terrorism," Aaviksoo said. "It creates instability or anxiety."

The trouble with battling cybercrime is that a skilled hacker can erase all traces and leave authorities guessing even as to where the attack was executed from. "There are no finger or footprints in cyberspace," Aaviksoo added.

And even if a country does know where it is being attacked from, there is no legislation to shut down the foreign server from which the attack is coming, which is the standard response to a cyber-threat, according to Maj. Gen. Georges D'hollander, head of NATO's C3 unit, which deals with cyberterrorism.

Cyberterrorism, which could be used to not only shut down governments and banks but also hospitals and other civilian infrastructure, can cause many millions of dollars in damages and is, according to Russian Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov, "a much greater threat than cyberattacks." Although, he added, for now, "it would be a gross exaggeration to speak of a cyberwar."

Two percent of computer owners can, whether knowingly or not, be used as soldiers in a cyberterrorism war as 1 in 50 computers is infected with malware, which is used in DOS attacks. More than 32 percent of those computers are owned by Americans, which makes them the world leader in that regard, followed by the Chinese and the Russians, according to Chizhov.

"If you want to buy a gun, you have to prove that you can keep it safe but when you buy a computer there's no such thing," Aaviksoo said.

In most countries, there is simply no legislation dealing with cybercrime, though some 80 nations are implementing it. Where there is legislation, it lacks harmony. Penalties in different countries range from a maximum of six months to 15 years in prison.

Yet sentencing is often too lenient. The $1,620 fine that was given to the Estonian hacker is unlikely to deter any terrorist seeking to cause serious harm. This creates a new form of terrorism with little to no risk to the perpetrator.

Besides Estonia's counter-cyberterrorism center, which will soon start cooperating with nine NATO member states, there is virtually no international cooperation on cyberterrorism. To its dismay, Estonia received no assistance from Russia in prosecuting its attackers.

Drafting appropriate legislation will be tricky, however, because one does not want to discourage people from using cyberspace. "It presents a paradox because the countries most developed at cyber technology are also the most vulnerable to attacks," Chizhov said.

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