on these forums , '' said US-CCU 's chief technical officer , John Bumgarner . `` They were used to recruit potential actors to launch attacks , to collaborate on what types of attacks worked and what types of attacks did n't work . They were used to collaborate on how to bypass security controls and share attack codes . '' As a result , Borg said , Russian sympathizers who were not hackers , and who did n't even know much about computers , could participate . The report says the civilian cyberattackers were aided and supported by Russian organized crime . Although they found no evidence of direct involvement by the Russian government or military , the report concludes that the organizers were tipped off about the timing of Russian military operations . `` There was a lot of information being passed on , but at what level it was being passed on was hard to say , '' Borg said . The report says that `` the necessary reconnaissance and the writing of attack scripts had to have been done in advance ... and suggests that cyber attacks against Georgia had been on the Russian agenda for
WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- An independent research group predicts that cyberwarfare will accompany future military conflicts and is recommending international action to blunt its impact . Computers can become victims in future military conflicts , a nonprofit group says . The nonprofit U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit studied the cybertactics used against the country of Georgia during its military conflict with Russia last year . Cyberattacks in August 2008 shut down the Web sites of crucial Georgian government agencies , the media and banks . `` The Russians have developed a model here that is very effective , '' said Scott Borg , director of US-CCU . `` We can expect to see the Russians use it in the future , and other countries as well . '' Because of the sensitive nature of much of the information , the full 100-page report is being released only to U.S. government officials and selected cybersecurity professionals . CNN was provided a nine-page summary . The study concludes that the cyberattacks against Georgian targets were carried out by civilians , many of them recruited via social networking forums devoted to dating , hobbies and politics . `` There was a large-scale collaboration