The University of = Alabama

University of = Alabama=20 News

UA Psychologist Studies Reasons Behind Cyberattack on Estonia

October 14, 2010 - Filed under: Faculty &=20 Staff, Research |=20 Tagged: College of Arts & Sciences, International, Internet, Psychology

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. =E2=80=94 In April 2007, the government of = Estonia decided to move=20 a statue honoring Russian soldiers who died in World War II out = of the=20 capital of Tallinn. Angry ethnic Russians throughout the world launched = a=20 cyberattack on the small Baltic nation, crippling its cyber = infrastructure for=20 four days.

Why did such an attack happen? And can it happen again? Dr. Rosanna = E.=20 Guadagno, assistant professor of psychology at The University of = Alabama, and=20 two colleagues have written a paper analyzing the attack and suggesting = reasons=20 word of the movement spread so quickly and evoked such passion among = Russian=20 Internet denizens.

=E2=80=9CThe symbol of what the Estonian government had done = =E2=80=93 disrespecting the=20 brave Russian soldier =E2=80=93 really incensed people,=E2=80=9D says = Guadagno, who researches=20 Internet behavior in the UA Online Social = Influence=20 Laboratory. =E2=80=9CIt made people angry and disgusted. Those are = the kinds of=20 messages that will spread and spur people to action in an online = environment.=20 =E2=80=9C

The paper, =E2=80=9CStorming=20 the Servers: A Social Psychological Analysis of the First Internet = War,=E2=80=9D was=20 published this fall in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and = Social=20 Networking. Her co-authors are Dr. Robert B. Cialdini of Arizona = State=20 University and Gadi = Evron of=20 Tel-Aviv University. The paper probes the reasons for the cyberattacks, = which=20 eventually were brought under control through counter-measures.

=E2=80=9CThey took out the government, they took out banks, they took = out=20 newspapers,=E2=80=9D she says. =E2=80=9CEstonia is much more = cyber-reliant than the United=20 States, so they really crippled the country.

Guadagno became interested in the event through Evron, who is a = =E2=80=9Cwhite hat=E2=80=9D=20 anti-cyberattack expert, and Cialdini, her mentor at Arizona State, = where she=20 earned her doctorate. Among the reasons the paper cites: Ethnic Russians = feel a=20 strong sense of loss over the breakup of the Soviet Union. Estonians saw = the=20 statue as a symbol of Soviet oppression, but Russians see it as a way to = honor=20 their war dead. Moving the statue compounded Russians=E2=80=99 sense of = loss.

=E2=80=9CThe Russians both within Russia and the Russians in the = countries that used=20 to be part of the Soviet bloc, they see themselves as the saviors of the = other=20 countries,=E2=80=9D Guadagnosays. =E2=80=9CSo there=E2=80=99s this = disagreement among native or ethnic=20 Estonians versus Russians who are still living in Estonia, because = Estonians see=20 them as oppressors, and Russians see themselves as liberators of = Estonia. So=20 Estonians saw that statue as a representation of oppression, but the = Russians=20 saw it as a symbol of their liberation.=E2=80=9D

Another factor involves the social psychology concept of contagion. = Riots=20 broke out on the streets of Tallinn over the Estonian = government=E2=80=99s move.=20 Lawlessness begets lawlessness; the angry feelings spread to the = Internet,=20 enabling law-abiding citizens to participate in jamming Estonian = cyberspace.

=E2=80=9CIf you set up a situation where there=E2=80=99s already = littering, there=E2=80=99s already=20 graffiti-ing, people are more likely to engage in anti-social = acts,=E2=80=9D=20 Guadagnosays. =E2=80=9CSo people are more likely to steal a bicycle if = the bicycle=20 that=E2=80=99s sitting in an area that=E2=80=99s littered and full of = graffiti. So lawlessness=20 spreads through contagion.=E2=80=9D

And the Internet serves as a great enabler. Russians who already were = trusted=20 members of online communities began to spread messages of outrage along = with=20 instructions on how to clog Estonian cyberspace through spam attacks and = other=20 devices. The anonymity and ease of acting online contributed to the=20 movement.

=E2=80=9CI spent quite a bit of time following the messages, because = on the Internet=20 everything stays forever,=E2=80=9D she says. =E2=80=9CI was actually = able to go through and look=20 at the Russian language posts. People who were existing members of = online=20 communities were more influential, so they got more responses when they = were the=20 ones posting the calls for the attack. But what I found interesting was = that=20 most of the responses to their posts were positive =E2=80=93 = =E2=80=98Yeah, go get them.=E2=80=99 There=20 were very few posts from people who said that it was wrong.=E2=80=9D

Guadagno=E2=80=99s research into the cyberattack on Estonia dovetails = with the=20 research she performs in her UA lab on how Internet videos spread = virally. Two=20 upcoming studies on viral videos suggest that videos with strongly = emotional=20 content, or videos that evoke disgust or humor, spread faster than = others.

=E2=80=9CThese videos spread through contagion =E2=80=93 people pass = them on and pass them on=20 and pass them on,=E2=80=9D she says. =E2=80=9CFor example, the image of = Tim Tebow cryingat the=20 end of the Alabama-Florida game spread through contagion. Not only did = it get=20 spread all over the Internet, it also transformed into more and more = provocative=20 images ridiculing Tebow. What our research has found is that people are = more=20 likely to spread videos to the extent that they evoke very negative = emotions. If=20 something makes them angry or disgusted, they will actually spread it to = others.=E2=80=9D

Given that emotions spread like wildfire on the Internet, = what=E2=80=99s to stop a=20 repeat of what happened to Estonia, beyond technological safeguards? Not = much,=20 Guadagno suggests.

=E2=80=9CThe symbol of what they had done =E2=80=93 disrespecting the = brave Russian soldier =E2=80=93=20 really incensed people,=E2=80=9D she says. =E2=80=9CIt made people angry = and disgusted. Those=20 are the kinds of messages that will spread and spur people to action in = an=20 online environment.=E2=80=9D

The department of psychology is part of UA=E2=80=99sCollege of Arts = and Sciences, the=20 University=E2=80=99s largest division and the largest liberal arts = college in the state.=20 Students from the College have won numerous national awards including = Rhodes=20 Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today = Academic=20 All American Team.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered = research=20 university, is experiencing significant growth in both enrollment and = academic=20 quality. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the = state's=20 economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice = for the=20 best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an = academic=20 community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for = all=20 Alabamians.

CONTACT: Rosanna E. Guadagno, = 205/348-7803, Rosanna@ua.edu

The University of = Alabama

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UA Psychologist Studies Reasons Behind Cyberattack on Estonia

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