Infrastructures of Cyber Warfare

Abstract

Discussions of cyber warfare tend to focus on weakening or disrupting a physical critical core infrastructure. Critical infrastructures are systems and assets that if destroyed, would have an impact on physical security, economic security, and/or public health or safety. Some have argued that meaningful, sustainable damage to critical infrastructures is unlikely through cyber warfare tactics. However, damage to non-critical infrastructures could inflict considerable economic damage and could cause an existing or emerging technology to lose acceptance in a targeted region or society. War planners with goals of economic damage or decreased quality of life could achieve these ends at relatively low cost without attempts to physically attack the critical infrastructure itself. Much of the work to carry out attacks on non-critical infrastructures could be done by a worldwide network of volunteers who might not even be aware of the motivations of the war planners or cyber terrorists. Non critical infrastructures that are vulnerable to damage are outlined and discussed. Greater concern for and attention to the vulnerabilities of these non-critical infrastructures is advocated.