Cyber warfare involves the acts of a nation-state or
international organization to attack and cause harm another nation’s computers
or information networks through different means such as computer viruses or
denial-of-service attacks. Cyber warfare acts attempt to disrupt the activities
of organizations or nations for strategic and military purposes or
cyber-espionage. To defend against cyber attacks, organizations or nations use
system procedures that are constantly being developed and tested. With no
security strategies, such entities are vulnerable to getting attacked
remotely by getting their properties exploited through the large and wide
cyberspace. In addition, attackers are less likely to be prosecuted due to the
challenges of identifying the attackers, the difficulty of distinguishing a
glitch from an attack, and the extensive use of unprotected technologies.

Brazil is well aware of the significance of the cyber warfare and
the dangers of it. The government of Brazil has taken several steps towards
countering cyber warfare and is well aware of the significance of the cyber
warfare and the dangers of it. Brazil has recognized in it its second National
Policy of Defense published in 2005 which states that To minimize the harm a cyber attack may cause, it is essential to
continuously improve safety devices and to adopt procedures to reduce the
vulnerability of computer systems and allow their prompt recovery.” (Brazil,
2005). The first act of countering cyber attacks in Brazil was the
establishment of Brazilian Cyber Defense Center Nucleus (NU CDCiber) in 2010.

In response to the witnessed cyber attack threats, The
Institutional Security Cabinet of the President’s Office of Brazil has set up a
Department of Information and Communications Security (DSIC), which is in
control of coordination and planning cyber security of information and
communications of the Federal government in Brazil. In 2010, the DSIC has
issued a Reference Guide for the Security of Critical Information
Infrastructures, which delineates the weaknesses and common threats
of cyber security, and the Green Book on Brazil’s Cybersecurity, which
accentuates the economical, political, and social problems Brazil has to
approach to. The intention of these publications is to make the population of
Brazil join the open debate in the near future. The trend of countering cyber
threats has instigated other countries of South America to develop similar
programs which has also prompted regional organizations to open forums for
debate.

Cyber warfare could possibly be countered by enlisting and
recruiting trained and qualified personnel that set cyber defenses that could act
as barriers.