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TECH SUPPORT "This arms race could be very destructive of the global Internet — and of countries' own interests. And it's spiraling out of control just like the nuclear race." — RON DEIBERT, CITIZEN LAB log every key stroke made by the user. Most astonishingly, it can commandeer microphones and cameras attached to target computers and capture conversa- tions within range and even live video of users. At least 30 per cent of infected com- puters were in "high-value targets" such as diplomatic missions, government departments, banks, accounting com- panies, and non-governmental organi- zations, including the Tibetan govern- ment in exile in Dharamsala. Others infected included the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. The prepon- derance of such targets clearly suggests espionage activity, says Deibert. The Citizen Lab team also traced the GhostNet control servers to Hainan Island off the coast of China where the People's Liberation Army just hap- pens to have a signals operation. The team eventually took remote control of those servers to gather evidence for its report — an irony Deibert calls "hilari- ous." Despite seemingly overwhelming evidence and his personal belief that the Chinese government was behind GhostNet, he cautions against jumping to conclusions. As lawyers should be the first to appreciate, it's all circumstantial evidence, he points out. Prosecutorial Misconduct Robert J. Frater The Honourable Peter Cory C.C., C.D., Q.C Defining the limits of legal prosecution The essential text for Crown counsel who need to operate within the rules of law and for defence counsel who need to identify when prosecutorial misconduct occurs and the remedies that are available. Essential knowledge for all criminal practitioners This treatise covers prosecutorial misconduct at every stage of the criminal process. Includes a CD-ROM with relevant Canadian case law to facilitate research. Order your copy today! Hardbound with CD-ROM • 342 pp • July 2009 • $110 P/C 0171010000 • ISBN 978-0-88804-487-7 canadalawbook.ca MERGING TRADITION WITH TECHNOLOGY For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.263.2037 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. 28 JULY 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com Frater_Prosecutorial Misconduct (CL 1-3sq).indd 1 6/11/09 9:53:40 AM CL0709 There are alternative explanations, including that some other intelligence organization was pulling puppet strings, using the computers on Hainan Island as a conduit. The odds that Chinese computers would be so used are good simply because of the size of the Chinese Internet-using population and the fact that computers there are notoriously insecure, says Deibert. It could also have been private "patriotic hackers," another known feature of the Chinese Internet scene, or even criminals trading in intel- ligence. Whoever is responsible, says Deibert, GhostNet should be a "wake-up call" on a couple of levels. For one thing, it's a very visible manifestation of an ongo- ing arms race in cyberspace. Groups in Washington, he points out, have actively advocated using cyber weapons, both for intelligence gathering, and more destructive purposes, such as mounting "denial of service" attacks to bring down strategic systems and networks in the event of war. "This arms race could be very destructive of the global Internet — and of countries' own interests," Deibert says. "And it's spiraling out of control just like the nuclear race." When the Citizen Lab first uncov- ered incontrovertible evidence of what it believed to be criminal activity with GhostNet, its members were struck by the fact that there was no international body to which they could take the evi- dence. There is an "urgent" need now, Deibert says, to form some kind of inter- national legal oversight body. Governments also need to enter into mutual restraint treaties as they did with nuclear arms. "It's challenging to think how that could be done," he says — meaning how countries could prove they were adhering to treaties. But the meth- odologies his team has developed, which he also refers to as "Columbo-style" "Truly, no one contemplating acting as a prosecutor should either leave home or prosecute anyone without reading this book. S home without this book nor defend anyone without reading this book." imilarly, anyone acting for an accused should neither leave