Cyber war might never happen

In a paper published in The Journal of Strategic Studies, Dr Thomas Rid, from the Department of War Studies, argues that cyber warfare has never taken place, nor is it currently doing so and it is unlikely to take place in the future.

Dr Rid said: ‘The threat intuitively makes sense: almost everybody has an iPhone, an email address and a Facebook account. We feel vulnerable to cyber attack every day. Cyberwar seems the logical next step.

‘Cyber warfare is of increasing concern to governments around the world, with many nations developing defensive – and reportedly offensive – capabilities.’

Recent events, such as a highly sophisticated computer worm known as Stuxnet, which was reported to have damaged the Iranian nuclear enrichment programme, have fuelled speculation that cyber warfare is imminent. There have also been alleged acts of cyber warfare originating from Russia aimed at Estonia and Georgia.

However, Dr Rid states that to constitute cyber warfare an action must be a potentially lethal, instrumental and political act of force, conducted through the use of software. Yet no single cyber attack has ever been classed as such and no act alone has ever constituted an act of war.

Dr Rid concludes: ‘Politically motivated cyber attacks are simply a more sophisticated version of activities that have always occurred within warfare: sabotage, espionage and subversion.’

Dr Rid specialises in cyber security and conflict, irregular conflict and counterterrorism. He is currently researching how armies use social media and is working on a project on the subject of cyber security.

Further media information
Dr Thomas Rid is available for interview. Please contact Anna Mitchell, Press Officer, on 0207 848 3092 or email anna.i.mitchell@kcl.ac.uk.

Notes to editors
‘Cyber War Will Not Take Place’ is published in The Journal of Strategic Studies. An advance copy of the paper can be viewed at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01402390.2011.608939

Media Contact

Katherine Barnes EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.kcl.ac.uk

All latest news from the category: Information Technology

Here you can find a summary of innovations in the fields of information and data processing and up-to-date developments on IT equipment and hardware.

This area covers topics such as IT services, IT architectures, IT management and telecommunications.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors