My CAJ Topic in General Terms: Cyberwar

My CAJ topic in general terms

My CAJ topic of choice this semester is cyberwar and even though it is quite easy to define this topic, it is quite tricky to find reliable information on cyberwar on the internet, as, according to several science magazines and newspaper articles, there has not yet been a cyberattack that could be considered an act of war.

Generally cyberwar can be defined as a solely Internet-based conflict that takes place through electronic and not physical means. The means of a cyberwar are, of course, cyberattacks which do not only have the power to  disable websites and networks, but they can also disrupt important services, steal classified data or alter data and cripple entire financial systems. Recent developments in robotics, which led to the creation of unmanned vehicles or drones, would even allow cyberattacks of even greater scale if hackers succeed in infesting the sophisticated computer system of those drones.

Furthermore, it is important to know that in order to define cyberattacks as an act of war, it is essential that a government or state admits having played a role in those attacks. As this has, up to this point, never happened in history and as it is extremely difficult to trace cyberattacks back to its source, we cannot yet speak of the outbreak of a cyberwar.

When we talk about cyberwar, it is, however, indispensable to include the topics of cyber security and cyber technology, as both of them are inextricably linked to cyberattacks and therefore to cyberwar in general.