Conflict in the Digital Age

War and conflict have been going on since the beginning of human kind.  Conflict between tribes in the Americas turned to wars between countries and the weapons used in war have changed as well. They developed from bow and arrows to riffles to nuclear bombs.  During the scare of the 1950s and 1960s the development of ARPANET, an intelligence network used to try and protect our country as well as a communication source, was the beginning of the internet as we know it.  With that development came the idea of cyber warfare. Bombs and guns are very real and deadly weapons, but being able to shut down an entire country from a complex worm or computer virus can be just as devastating. 
Think about it, air traffic control, sources of electricity and water, medical records, they are all maintained by computers.  Knowing how much I rely on my computer and my iPhone it scares me quite a bit to think of the damage that could be done to my technology.  If I go to the wrong website or open an unknown email it could not only ruin my software, but some viruses now of days can actually ruin the hardware. 

Most of us have a family member or friend that will open any email from sources they don’t know to “get a free vacation,” or join a Facebook group to “win a new designer handbag.” For most cyber warfare victims these actions can sign them up for unwanted spam or their Facebook account may be hacked, but if your friend or family members chooses the wrong one, the creator or the virus could shut down their entire hard drive.  More and more people these days have their financial records, business files and cherished family photos on their computers, so the threat of cyber warfare hits close to home.

In the bigger picture, many countries are struggling with ways to protect their government sites and classified information that can be hacked and leaked, or the bigger fear of being completely shut down.  Last month, a Newsweek article discussed what some countries such as Great Britain are doing to defend themselves from cyber warfare.  Knowing that anyone with an internet connection, in-depth computer knowledge, and a will to do some damage that can affect an entire country or multiple countries scares the living daylights out of me.  I wouldn’t call myself paranoid, but rather a realist.  Waging war is a business and I feel that there are people out there willing to pay good money to cause intense damage to others without ever having to physically shoot a gun or set off a bomb.

As far as protecting yourself from a possible cyber attack the best thing to do is pay attention to what you open on the web.  If you don’t know the source, don’t open it.  Keep in mind that the threat is very real, but it can be avoided if you play it smart.