On the online landscape, cyber attacks have been commonplace and hackers prevalent. From personal, small-scale notifications about endangered email passcodes to large-scale infiltrations like the 2014 North Korea hack into Sony, we have seen cyber wars take place.
But we are beginning to see larger consequences from these cyber attacks in the form of full on cyber wars. In March 2022, there were more than 6 billion potential cyber attacks worldwide in a single 24-hour period. In the first 10 weeks of 2022, over 150 cyber attacks were launched against Ukraine. It appears that for Russia, the war with Ukraine is likely serving as a live testing ground for its next generation of cyber weapons.
To date, most cyber attacks have had less devastating effects, likely because they were only testing new cyber weapons. Cyber attacks have the capability to shut down electrical grids, destroy technology as well as explode power infrastructure. If these attacks continue at the same impact and become more prevalent, they could have an influence on the scale of a natural disaster. For instance, knocking out a power grid could create similar conditions that Texans experience in the winter of 2021 where there was loss of electricity and water as well as widespread damage due to frozen and busted pipes.
With 93% of Americans fearing cyber wars against the US, it is important to become familiar with the history of these online fights and things you can do to help prevent one from happening on your own personal device. Read in the infographic below to learn more about what cyber wars and if they will become the new method of warfare between countries.
