It seems recently there has been a significant increase in talks of cyberattacks and even cyberwar. In fact, that discussion has even been tied back to another topic of war that was prevalent decades ago. I am referring to the subject matter of a "cyber cold war" with Russia. That phrase has certainly grabbed a few headlines in publications of late.
Now add to all those discussions of a World War III, or World War 3.0, as it's been dubbed. If you only looked at the headlines, you might walk away with the notion that some clear act of cyber aggression has taken place and there is a strong potential for cyberwar to break out very soon, if not immediately.
No one would dispute that cyberattacks on business and government continue; and if you did not know better, you would have to say virtually unchecked. No one should dispute the threat of cyber terrorism or the continued theft of national secrets or proprietary and confidential intellectual property of defense contractors and general businesses, for that matter. The big question that keeps coming up again and again is: Does all of these cyberattacks rise to the level of war?
There are so many variables to consider, like the method of attack, the scope and scale of the impact, as well as the degree of disruption that would accompany such events.
Now, you must consider the degree of confidence in attributing these attacks to a specific nation or group required to make that decision (calling it a cyberwar). No one has any idea just what a cyberwar would entail or look like, much less what Washington's military or other response would be, or any other country's response for that matter. Perhaps we should all hope we never have to find out!
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