Computer programmers and hackers will lead the front lines of WWIII, suggests former intelligence agent

World War III will be fought neither on land nor in the sky. Instead, global war will be waged in the abstract world of cyberspace.

These are the provocative insights of Annie Machon, a former MI5 agent and partner of the whistleblower David Shayler. Machon now works as a writer and public speaker. She has a rare blend of experience in both the inner workings of government and social media. In a recent interview with RT News, Machon explains the threat cyberwarfare poses to humanity.

Cyberwarfare occurs whenever a nation-state or internal organization attempts to attack or damage another nation’s computers by disabling essential services, destroy financial systems, and steal classified information, among other possibilities.

Internet is the Backbone of World’s Infrastructure

The repercussions of cyberwarfare aren’t just felt in the abstract realm of cyberspace, but have tangible consequences in the here and now. The internet is the backbone of most of the world’s infrastructure; it is, by and large, a worldwide telephone. Attacking that infrastructure could easily collapse society, warned Machon.

“Infrastructure of all our countries is run over the internet now. It’s run by computers, be it electricity, be it the traffic signal control, be it train systems- wherever it is: banking, encryption – everything is dependent on cyber issues. So if you start waging cyberwarfare against the infrastructure of a nation state, then the whole nation state could collapse within a few days,” said Machon.

Major countries at the forefront of cyberwarfare include the United States, Russia, China and North Korea. Nevertheless, big governments do not have a monopoly on cyberwarfare. It can be issued by your run-of-the-mill citizen. All one needs to launch an attack of cyberwarfare is a laptop and some hacker know-how.

An Unprecedented Threat

The nature of cyberwarfare is unprecedented in other ways as well. Like any uncharted territory, cyberwarfare has unknown risks. In World War I, for example, the Germans suffocated their enemies with mustard gas, phosgene and chlorine gas. In 1925, the Geneva Protocol was created to prevent the use of chemical and biological weapons in war. The world of cyberspace is free terrain, where ethics and prohibitions exist in a vacuum. No one could foresee the Germans using mustard gas, and no one can foresee the opportunities cyberwarfare may unlock for hackers.

As war becomes more abstract, it also becomes more indirect; and whenever the consequences of war become isolated, the risk of waging it increases. This was true with respect to the atomic bomb and drone strikes, and is the case with respect to cyberwarfare. The only difference is the bloodshed caused by atomic weapons and drones is on the hands of the government, whereas the bloodshed caused by cyberwarfare is on the hands of anyone seated behind a computer.

That doesn’t mean national  military won’t reap the benefits of cyberwarfare. Weapons cost billions of dollars to develop, store and transport. Countries could issue state-sponsored cyber attacks that are a fraction of the cost in comparison to conventional warfare. In addition, cyber attacks can persist for years and do not require human intervention.

WWW is an acronym for the world wide web. If cyberwarfare is issued by a single hacker, as Machon suggests, the acronym will take on a new meaning — world wide war.

Sources:

rt.com
rand.org
theweek.com
naturalnews.com
wsj.com
theguardian.com
scmagazine.com