Question

Global Politics: What is the major difference between cyber war and more conventional types of war?

Answer 1

Cyber warfare is different in every way from conventional conflict. There are no faces on your enemy. There is no territory to invade, nor region to control, nor populace to target and police. Cyber warfare at its core is information warfare. Whether it’s industrial espionage by the Chinese or political meddling from Russia, cyber conflict bears no resemblance to armed conflicts of the past. Of course, this is what we’ve already seen of cyber war.

The future of cyber warfare is terrifying, but fascinating. As recently as Operation Iraqi Freedom, destroying a bridge or dam in hostile territory meant sending in bombers, missiles, or SpecOps to carry out the demolition. Instead, we’re looking at a future where a dam is burst or a power plant is detonated with some keystrokes and mouse-clicks from thousands of miles away: most notably, there is no warning with cyber attacks. No air raid sirens. No distant artillery. No missile detection alerts. In the cyber conflicts of the future, destruction and death will come suddenly, shockingly, and often anonymously.