of
Technology
Weaponization
The current capabilities of weaponization of systems is already tremendously dangerous. Weaponization of computer hacking is a constant growing crime that is more prevalent than ever. Since hacking is occurring so frequently and easily it raises the questions of “What happens if attacks of national infrastructure succeed?”, “What if hospitals or healthcare systems are hacked and crash?” “What if national or military grid ICT systems were hacked?” (Davies 2015) On a personal level, we as individuals need to be more aware and make decisions to protect ourselves with use of credit cards and electronic transactions. We have seen major credit card scandals and millions of people's information compromised by hackers. Phone apps are also an issue because numerous Android and iOS apps fetch data through simple HPPT (Weaver 2013). The internet once was a passive infrastructure for communication and now is an active weapon for attacks. The only defence from all of these weaponization issues is universal encryption (Weaver 2013). Universal encryption is difficult and expensive but necessary (Weaver 2013). Police in North Dakota are now allowed to use police drones also known as unmanned aerial vehicles. These drones are equipped with dangerous weaponry such as tasers, pepper spray and rubber bullets (Bourne 2015).
Stuxnet is the name of a computer worm that was used in 2010 in a cyber-attack against Iran’s nuclear facilities.(Kushner) The Stuxnet worm is believed to have been responsible for the destruction of some centrifuges in Iran’s nuclear weapons facility. Experts believe that the size and sophistication of the worm indicate that it’s creator must have been funded by a nation-state.While neither nation has confirmed involvement, leaks to the press suggest that the governments of Israel and the United States were behind the creation of Stuxnet. (Kushner) If it is indeed true that these nations were behind the worm, it is an indicator of the direction that warfare is heading; a direction where computer coders, with the funding of a nation, create worms and viruses that can disrupt any aspect of a rival nation that relies on computer systems for regulation. This makes nearly every aspect of a nation a susceptible target.
Current Computer Systems
In our current age of technology, computer systems are tied to nearly every aspect of society. Hackers could potentially access the computer systems that control a nation’s water utilities, giving the hacker the ability to poison a nation's water supply without physically entering that nation. Additionally, if a hacker were to gain access to computer systems that control power plants, the hacker could cripple the power grids of an entire nation. The scariest part of this vulnerability is that all of this could occur without detection until it is too late.
In addition to the manipulation of a country's infrastructure through cyber-attacks on their computer systems, the next generation of warfare involving computer systems could have robots serve as replacements for human soldiers. For example, DARPA is exploring the idea of an airborne mothership that could launch and recover small drones (Solon). This would enable the US, and other countries who obtain similar technology, to maintain a military presence in foreign lands without physically having any boots on the ground. Autonomous, or remote controlled drones could do the fighting for us, nearly eliminating the potential for loss of life in military conflicts. The ability to manipulate the computer systems that control a nation’s infrastructure, and to replace human soldiers with armed drones would enable a nation to destroy a rival nation from within, without the need to risk a single soldier's life.
Future Computer Systems
This is an example of a return attack against an attacker could look like.
