The crippling and devastating cyber-attack on the Central Bank of Lesotho serves as a deadly reminder that these type of attacks are no longer in the realm of science fiction.
Cyberwar, compared to traditional warfare, is in progress; a prelude to full-scale war involving computer-coded weapons that cannot be tracked, seen or heard.
Two world wars were fought with tanks, aircraft, ships and bombs. The next world war, to which we are heading, will witness combat that has the potential to obliterate humanity on a vast scale, transcending boundaries.
Software will replace sonar, algorithm will replace radar, viruses will replace vehicles, binary codes will replace bullets and bombs and artificial intelligence will replace combat soldiers.
The geopolitical implications of this kind of combat will propel the balance of power into a new dimension. The victor will rule the world and the losers will be vanquished into political slavery. This type of attack can be brutal, anonymous and devastating.
Cyberwar has the potential to render economic waste to any nation. It can force highly advanced nations to jump at every digital shadow while attackers can co-opt the resources of the defending nation to force-multiply their attacks.
For the first time in human history, laws and agreements to codify and restrain methods of war will become obsolete as the attacker cannot be seen or identified.
Unlike a nuclear weapon, the death toll from most cyberattacks would be slower. People would die from lack of power for heat, as well as crashes resulting from corrupted traffic lights and highway systems.
A cyberattack at a nuclear plant could cause an event similar to the incident in Chernobyl that killed 50 civilians, forced the evacuation of about 120 000 people and radiated the area. It could last for centuries.
Cyberwarfare is a serious weapon of mass destruction that falls outside the ambit of every arms control treaty. An attack could happen by mistake or electronic malfunction.
It nearly happened during the Cold War.
* Farouk Araie, Johannesburg.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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