The Cyber Arms Race in 2019

摘要

Modern nations and their militaries are cyber dependent and will become even more so when nearly all connected devices are joined in a network to form the new Internet of Things (loT). In the loT, every device, brilliant or dumb, will collect data and every one of these connected devices, from ships and fighter jets to smartphones and toasters, will be an entry point for malicious cyber attacks. As technology adoption across the world increases, and as the loT becomes a reality, the attack surface enlarges exponentially and the cyberspace domain grows. With every device serving as a potential entry point for a cyber attack, many nations are investing billions of dollars to create cyber defences. At the same time, nations are also spending on the development of offensive cyber weapons. In an era where there are few ways to deter a cyber attack, the nation that develops the best cyber defences and the most capable cyber attack weapons will have a tremendous advantage. Cyberspace is a critical warfare domain that will have a disruptive effect on the other domains: land, sea, air and space. In a future war, all five domains will be contested and cyberwar may be the first weapon used to crack the other four. Cyberwarfare allows nation states, corporations and individuals to attack centres of gravity in a manner that is effective, affordable and deniable. As a result, the cyber arms race is escalating - a fact easily proven by examining and comparing the two major players.