What is cyberwarfare? Why the violent title?
“Si vis pacem, para bellum” is a Latin saying (attributed to the Roman author Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus) that means, “If you want peace, prepare for war.”
“Warfare” can sound old-fashioned like knights on horseback valiantly swinging swords and firing bows, aggrandized like there are lives at stake, silly as if it’s a black-and-white film, or used by people trying to sound like they’re cool by using military talk in a business setting. Using the term “warfare” can certainly be made larger than life, and it is often used for things that aren’t life-and-death, damaging, and destructive. But in many cases with cyberattacks, the term is quite valid.
There are nations that are trying to disable or even destroy the critical infrastructure (e.g., power grid, water supply) of other nations. Some are willing to cripple hospitals (for obvious reasons). Others are ready to cause the financial ruin of whole states and countries. While not everything in cybersecurity is warfare, in many instances there is a boundary being crossed, from theft from companies and individuals to the attempt to ruin either nations or industries.
Here's some more information about what cyber warfare is:
"Cyber warfare involves the actions by a nation-state or international organization to attack and attempt to damage another nation's computers or information networks through, for example, computer viruses or denial-of-service attacks. RAND research provides recommendations to military and....
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