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Don't buy the hype: cyber war doesn't kill

The 2010 Strategic Defence Review classified cyber warfare as a Tier 1 threat. That’s above nuclear attack, and akin to a 7/7 style terrorist attack. We are being warned about a series of online ‘Pearl Harbour’ events that will bring countries to their knees. The word ‘Cybergeddon’ has come into use.

Though still in their infancy, cyber attacks have started to play a significant role in modern warfare. Russia targeting Estonia in 2007 and Georgia in 2008. Israeli hackers accused of targeting Syria and the Chinese attacks on Google have all seen the rhetoric, and possibilities, building. Then in June, Stuxnet, the most sophisticated malware identified to date, surfaced, apparently targeting the Iranian nuclear program. Many think Israel was involved in the coding and targeting. So, without warning, Stuxnet has raised the possibility of a nation state launching a deliberate cyber act of aggression against another state or its citizens to an extent which would constitute warfare. USCYBERCOM (United States Cyber Command) has come online, and the UK Defence Cyber Operations Group was formed this October. But does this realignment reflect the true nature of the threat or does it reveal our governments’ Kafkaesque desire to implement systems able to monitor and police the internet?