The Exchange Of Cyber-Fire The Malaysia-Indonesia Ambalat Dispute

The recent Malaysia - Indonesia territorial dispute over the ownership of Ambalat and East Ambalat created tension in both the real and virtual worlds. In the real world, warships and planes of both countries manoeuvred near each other in the disputed area. In cyberspace, hacking of websites was rampant and nasty. Indeed cyberspace has become a new arena for 'citizen warfare' in which individuals can express their nationalistic sentiments and attack their nation's 'enemy'. The diplomatic tension began to rise on 16 February 2005 when Petronas, Malaysia's national oil company awarded production sharing contracts to Anglo-Dutch giant Royal Dutch/Shell and Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd - Petronas' exploration and production arm - for the ultra-deepwater blocks off the east coast of Malaysia's Sabah state.