By Sheena Goel
Since time immemorial war has been fought with weapons which are tangible. Be it spear, bow and arrow, sword, Or more modern ones like guns, rockets, bombs, tankers, etc. However, with the advent of Digital technology, rules of game has changed and now war can be fought with both tangible and in-tangible weapons.
Tangible weapons remain more or less the same with increased precision and extent of annihilation as a result of advanced digital technology. Some of the new ones are autonomous weapon, which can work on their own without human intervention or can be remotely controlled like drones, self flying aircrafts, laser precision guns, self detonating bombs etc.
Intangible weapons like AI driven strategic planning of warfare and bio engineered weapons like diseases or even digital attacks like hacking government websites, cyber frauds which are initiated from other countries can prove to be equally or more fatal than the tangible ones.
Cyber attacks can render a country’s economy paralyzed and/or destroyed without anyone being able to detect the actual source of origin.
As various countries move towards digitization of public utility related information and various basic civic activities can be completed via these websites from the comfort of the homes, it is not unreasonable to say that when a cyber attack happens on such system the back bone of Civic system maintained by the government is broken. There is always a danger of sensitive personal and financial data being stolen.
Hacking of Banking website can lead to financial loss to many customers of that bank, number of which can run from lakhs to crore in a given country.
Similarly, AI is being vastly used these days to plan and strategize the actual warfare, helping decide best possible plan of execution.
Though the idea of defeating the opponent by the method of spreading a disease is not new, biotechnology has paved way for achieving fatality by greater dimensions as it is now possible to generate different mutations of a bacteria or virus, which can be stealthily planted so as to unleash havoc. Most notable one in the recent times reported by media is the curious case of COVID-19.
As per popular belief COVID-19 was created and spread from Wuhan biotechnology lab of China. And has run amok from there to entire world ,like a bull in china shop, effectively putting the entire world under lockdown and breaking the world economy.
Social engineering attacks, uses psychological manipulation to trick users into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information. In some cases youngsters are tricked into terrorist activities, making them believe that whatever they will do will bring about a radical change in the society and world at large, with the hope of becoming leaders of the modern world. No good comes of it except that the lives of these innocent young men and women is ruined for ever taking their families in the abyss of social boycott.
Are then we completely aware of the potential of destruction such technological weapons can cause to the mankind as a whole, and still there will not be any substantial proof what caused it or who caused it? Calling for much clinical use of technology for the purpose of war.
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