Running Head: CYBER-WARFARE VERSUS CYBER-TERRORISM

Cyber-warfare and Cyber-Terrorism

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Running Head: CYBER-WARFARE VERSUS CYBER-TERRORISM

Technology is advancing and so is the cloud space. The cloud space is here with us but at

times it determines or as critical elements of our living as our security. Cloud space has huge

functionality and is used widely in the modern world both in the field of military and terrorism.

When cyber is used in either fileds, it is referred differently depending on how us sed and who

uses it. This has given rise to two broad claffisifications of cyberaffairs, being cyberwarafare and

cybeterrorism. Both are different and they are manifested and contused differently.

Cyberwarefare

Military groups have been advancing how they approach warfare. They have understand

and acknowledge the fact that technology can imply a good and strong military group or a very

poor military group. Therefore, to remain as a competent military group, countries have

embraced the cyberwarfare and emphasis is put in this military functionality like a normal

physical warfare. Therefore, cyberwarfare can be defined as the practice by military groups to

attack their rival through the cloud space with an intention to cause physical losses or even

damages.

Cyberwarfare is a little bit different from normal warfare however, the end results of the

two might be similar. Cyberwarafare however targets computer system and the aim reason is

because once a computer system is down, much is implied in the real world. Computers are used

widely in control of real life activities and if it impossible to attack the through cyberwarfare, it

is also possible to cause and adverse effects in the actual world.

Major forms off cyberwarfare

Malware
Running Head: CYBER-WARFARE VERSUS CYBER-TERRORISM

A military might inject a malware in the target nations’ military’s computer system. With

this malware being injected, they can use the attack to stalk their target nation’s military and gain

insight in the arrangement of their military groups. Having such a low-key survey of their

competitors, they can make launch attacks to the target nations based on the insight and the

knowledge gathered after a significant time of stalking. Therefore, a malware in this case is used

to ascertain what a target nation is planning on their actual warfare attack and act before their

initiate their attacks.

The second form of cyber warfare of denial of service. A military groups might use cyber

experts to hack computer system and information system of the target military groups. If this

successful, vital functionalities of the target groups are brought down and paralyzed. Take for

instance a denial for service in information system which is relied for communication purposes.

This implies that troops from the target nation cannot have effective and real time

communication with each other. Therefore, they cannot coordinate with their peers to remain as a

team and fight back in cases of a normal warfare. Therefore, the target groups is disadvantaged

against remain in contact with each other by their information system being attacked and blocked

to deny users any access.

cyberwarfare is preferable over normal physical warfare because of its constituent

advantages. One of the biggest advantage of a cyberwafare is the less costs that is incurred for

successful cyberwar attack. Therefore, a nation does not spend so much to destroy their enemies.

Therefore, the budget of a country is not affected by cyberwarafe because it actually helps to

save excess costs that could have been used in cases of normal physical warfare challenge.

Moreover, cyberwarafare is being preferred in the modern word because of the less paint that is

associated with its execution. Just in press of a button, a military can find itself having destroyed
Running Head: CYBER-WARFARE VERSUS CYBER-TERRORISM

so much of their victimized military groups without anything undergoing physical injuries of

being subjected to any kind of physical pain. Moreover, cyberwarafre is preferred over normal

physical warfare because of its ability to be conducted in selective basis. When a cyberwarfare is

conducted, a military group can decide which part of the economy or infrastructure they want to

target. However, this is not possible under normal physical warfare because infrastsructures get

destroyed, economic is destabilized among other adverse effects altogether. Therefore, when a

nation does not wish to completely destroy their challenging nation, cyberwarefare can be a

better option because it will bring about lesser losses and adverse implications.

Cyberterrorism

The same way a military group uses the cyber to fight other military groups, terroris have

learnt and are now using the same concept. This is what is referred to as cyberterrosism and can

be defined as the use of cyber capabilities by terrorist to stage terror attacks. It compares with

cyberwafare in that cyberterrorism is not lawful but are acts done through the cyber to generate

fear or render the target group into physical damage or even economic damages.

There are different elements of cyberterrorism, which can be classified depending on the

nature of the victimized parties or infrastructures. The first element of cyberterrorism is the

politically-motivated cyberterrorism. These kind of terrorism are aimed at the political system or

status of the target parties. Therefore, they are done to render bodily injuries or at times deaths to

a certain political group. Therefore, an attacker in this case stalk the political subject in question

and determine how they can bring forth bodily damage to their target through the cyber.

There are other cyberterrorism attacks that are not focused on bringing injuries or deaths

but rather to subject target parties in climate of fear. Such attacks are very bad because they
Running Head: CYBER-WARFARE VERSUS CYBER-TERRORISM

increase the suspense among target groups. In some cases if the target group is not careful,

terrorists use this kind of attacks to assess how prepared are their target victims. Therefore, they

can analyze how they respond to such cyberterrorism attack and consequently identity areas of

weaknesses exposed by the victimized parties. They use these as loopholes when they after the

climate of fear has subsided.

Another form of cyberterrorism is attacked against different infrastructures used by the

target victims. Such attacks are very critical because infrastructures work coherently and thus an

attack on one infrastructure can fault efficiency of other infrastructure. Terrorist for instance can

attack financial infrastructure, energy infrastructure, transport infrastructure, government

infrastructure among others.

Mitigating cyberterrorism

However, countries are not completely exposed to uncertainties of cyberterrorism, there

are remedies that can be employed to reduce the risk exposure to this kind of cyber threat. Such

measure is facilitating and participating in global collaboration. This could enable countries to

strengthen cyber secruies in respective regions. In addition, counties could be working together

to enhance cyber safety of each other.

The second approach that can be used to mitigate cyberterrorism is always ensuring that

cyber software that country use are the most advanced in the market place. This is to ensure that

a country has advanced safety features to withstand crack attempt by terrorists. Moreover, each

country should collaborate with the private sector in enhancing cyber security. This is to foster

strategic alliance against terror attacks that utilize the cloudspace.

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