The Cyber Effect On Modern Warfare

Even before the Iranian oil tanker attacks the US had been planning cyber-attacks on Iran, according to a report in The New Yorker magazine. 

On June 20th, hours after the US Global Hawk surveillance drone, which cost over $100m, was destroyed over the Strait of Hormuz by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, the US Cyber Command launched a retaliatory digital strike against an Iranian spy group that had assisted the attacks on commercial ships.

Unusually, the US then used the world press and media to get its message across to the Iranians and the world that it was using cyber as a military attack mode.

Teams at the US Cyber Command have changed the way warfare will be conducted in the future. And so the cyber-attack on Iran has begun the military change to cyber war making it now a method that will be used as the new military surveillance and attack strategy.

During much of the Obama Administration, the United States cyber arsenal was strictly classified but now under Trump this tactic has changed and now the Department of Defense has already issued a strategic plan that not only confirmed the existence of cyber weapons but declared its commitment to using them “to advance US interests” and “defend forward.” 

At Cyber Command, teams are assigned to specific adversaries, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China, among them, and spend years working alongside the intelligence community to gain access to digital networks. 

While the cyber-attack on Iranian maritime installations appeared to be an immediate response to the destruction of the drone, it was actually a long time in the making. 

Last year, the Pentagon gave Cyber Command the same command positon as the nine other combat commands. which include Central Command and Special Operations Command, an indication of the Internet’s growing importance as both a strategic domain and a military asset. 

In the past, the threat of mutually assured destruction was the way that nuclear powers kept one another’s lethal capabilities in check. Cyber weapons may offer some of the same assurances, but only to a point. Unlike nuclear weapons, which are expensive and stockpiled by a small number of states, cyber weapons are cheap and widely available, not just to nation-states but to criminals and malign actors. 

Also unlike conventional weapons, whose trajectories are easily traced, cyber weapons, which move through fibre-optic cables that crisscross the globe, lend themselves to plausible deniability. 

How do you levy a threat when it’s not clear where an attack is coming from or who is responsible? The impact of a cyber-attack can prove similarly elusive. The Trump Administration, with Bolton in the lead, has made offensive cyber operations an integral arm of statecraft.

It remains an open question whether they will also become lethal weapons of war.

New Yorker:        Yahoo:

You Might Also Read: 

Cyberwar: Covert Cyber Attack Campaign Is Underway:

The Destabilizing Danger Of Cyberattacks On Missile Systems:

 

 

« We Can Reduce Cybercrime, But Why Are We Failing?
Malware Attacks Drop As Encrypted Attacks Increase »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

MIRACL

MIRACL

MIRACL provides the world’s only single step Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which can replace passwords on 100% of mobiles, desktops or even Smart TVs.

LockLizard

LockLizard

Locklizard provides PDF DRM software that protects PDF documents from unauthorized access and misuse. Share and sell documents securely - prevent document leakage, sharing and piracy.

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law advise global businesses that buy and sell technology products and services. We are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

Infosecurity Europe, 3-5 June 2025, ExCel London

This year, Infosecurity Europe marks 30 years of bringing the global cybersecurity community together to further our joint mission of Building a Safer Cyber World.

CyberSecurityJobsite.com

CyberSecurityJobsite.com

CyberSecurityJobsite.com is a specialist job board designed to attract candidates working within Cyber Security, Information Security or Information Assurance.

FlashRouters

FlashRouters

FlashRouters offers DD-WRT compatible router models with improved performance, privacy/security options, and advanced functionality.

Gigasoft

Gigasoft

Gigasoft provide secure online data backup & cloud backup services for the education sector and businesses.

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)

General Dynamics IT delivers cyber security services to defend critical information and infrastructure.

Cybraics

Cybraics

Cybraics nLighten platform implements a unique and sophisticated artificial intelligence engine that rapidly learns your environment and alerts security teams to threats and vulnerabilities.

Augur Security

Augur Security

Augur Security (formerly SecLytics) is the only cybersecurity platform using AI-powered behavioral modeling and agentic automation to reliably predict and block threats before they launch.

Evidence Talks (ETL)

Evidence Talks (ETL)

A leading forensic computing authority developing unique digital forensic technologies. Tools that detect potential terrorists & criminals & used by the military, enforcement & intelligence commmunity

Datec PNG

Datec PNG

Datec is the the largest end-to-end information and communications technology solutions and services provider in Papua New Guinea.

eResilience

eResilience

eResilience is a division of Referentia Systems, a pioneer in an ultra-secure information safeguarding technique known as “Enclaving”, in which data can be segmented and protected within a network.

Cloud GRC

Cloud GRC

Cloud GRC is an innovative cybersecurity company with solutions and expertise in Cybersecurity Strategies & Frameworks, Threat & Risk Assessment, Cloud Security, and Regulatory Compliance Requirements

Motiv ICT Security

Motiv ICT Security

Motiv is the ICT security specialist that provides public and private sector organisations with IT security solutions and services to prevent cybercrime, data theft and data breaches.

IntelliDyne

IntelliDyne

IntelliDyne is a leading information technology consulting firm enabling better mission performance through innovative technology solutions.

TuxCare

TuxCare

TuxCare make Linux more secure. We take care of Linux so that organizations can use Linux to support environments that require high levels of Cybersecurity, stability, and availability.

Total Secure Technology

Total Secure Technology

Total Secure Technology provides trusted Managed IT Security and Managed IT Services for organizations looking to increase their cybersecurity defensive posture.

Cyber Security Unity (CSU)

Cyber Security Unity (CSU)

Cyber Security Unity (formerly the UK Cyber Security Association) is a new global community which has been set up to help unite the industry and combat the growing cyber threat.

Southern Cyber

Southern Cyber

At Southern Cyber, our mission is to deliver world-class information security solutions that align businesses with leading security frameworks and compliance standards.