Author: Daniel K. Rosenfield
Affiliation: George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs, Washington, DC
Abstract
Cybernetic attacks have been wrongly perceived as weapons of physical destruction rather than of disruption. Because modern, post-industrial societies have become critically dependent on computer networks to function on a day-to-day basis, disruption of those networks could have serious social and economic consequences. In order to better protect society, policymakers will have to re-orient their approach toward cyber security so as to emphasize the genuine cybernetic threat, which is network disruption rather than physical destruction.