Brace for cyberwarfare

THE diabolical face of terrorism now haunts the Holy land of Saudi Arabia.

Mankind stands in horror as global terrorism goes on the rampage.

The next decade will witness a new form of warfare which will have no explosions, no noise, no deadly calling card, and no forensic evidence.

This scenario is making leaders nervous, because the threat is not science fiction.

Non-state organisations pose the greatest threat to civilisation in the decades ahead. Their strategies negate the use of deadly force.

They could be summarised as follows:

a) Electro magnetic pulse weapons: these weapons destroy the electronic brains in computers. Should this relatively cheap and easy-tobuild weapon be detonated in a major city, electronic money transfers would be wiped clean, destroying confidence in the global banking system. These are weapons of mass disruption: industries will grind to a halt. Every electronic device will cease to function, taking us back to the Stone Age.

b) High-energy radio frequency weapons: these weapons can radiate intense pulses of electro-magnetic energy capable of severely damaging computers, cellphone towers, radar and all the electronic equipment modern civilisation depends on. An onslaught by these weapons would destroy the infrastructure of modern society.

c) Cyber attacks: the drumbeats of cyberwarfare have been sounding for years. Network intrusions are widely viewed as among the most serious national security, public safety and economic challenges. Technology, in this case, becomes a double-edged sword: hackers, terrorists, drug cartels, organised criminal groups, will use these tools to sow massive disruption on a global scale.

Mankind is in peril – we are unaware that we are unaware.

FAROUK ARAIE

Johannesburg