Cyberwar Could Threaten Security of Critical Infrastructure
The ability of several countries to launch politically-motivated cyber-attacks has increased and put critical infrastructure in the crosshairs, according to a sweeping report from McAfee.
In its fifth annual Virtual Criminology Report (PDF), McAfee noted that not only have politically-motivated cyber-attacks increased, but countries such as Russia, the U.S. and China are developing advanced offensive capabilities. According to the report, the U.S. nearly put its capabilities front and center before the 2003 invasion of Iraq when U.S. military and intelligence agencies planned a cyber-attack on the Iraqi financial system. The attack was called off out of concern that it would impact other countries, the report states.
“While in this case the U.S. decided to hold back due to the high risk of collateral damage, one can imagine what the consequences for the private sector might be if hostilities were to erupt between two major powers,” according to the report.
