Will hackers back down if they attack Red Cross servers? In any case, this is the wish of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has requested the support of States around the world.
Indeed, in a statement, the ICRC requested the creation of a “digital emblem” of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (the largest group of humanitarian organizations in the world). This digital emblem would signal to anyone trying to hack into ICRC systems that they should be protected and therefore not targeted by cyber attacks.
An international law not applied online
For 150 years, the red cross emblem has been an element of protection against attacks during armed conflicts. Persons (employed as civilians) or buildings displaying this emblem, a red cross on a white background, are therefore theoretically protected from harm. But this applies today only to real space. Online, there is no protection against attacks targeting protected installations.
“With the digitization of society, cyber operations are now part of the reality of armed conflict […] The creation of a digital emblem is a concrete step that will better protect critical medical infrastructure and the ICRC in the digital world,” said Robert Mardini, ICRC Director General.
An implementation to be defined
In its report “Digitalization of the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal” carried out with the Cybertrust Center and several world universities, the ICRC has identified different ways to create this digital emblem.
However, the deterrent aspect of the digital emblem remains questionable and implies that hackers have good hearts. The ICRC had already been the victim of a cyber attack in January 2022. This is part of the reason for its desire to step up its online security.
Personal information and sensitive data of more than 515,000 people were then stolen. Among them were missing persons, their families but also detainees. The ICRC later spoke of a “highly sophisticated and targeted” attack.
Source: BFM TV
