Rid, T and P McBurney (2012) "Cyber-Weapons" The RUSI Journal, vol 157, iss 1, February, 6-13, DOI:10.1080/03071847.2012.664354
What are cyber-weapons? Instruments of code-borne attack span a wide spectrum, from generic but low-potential tools to specific but high-potential weaponry. This distinction brings into relief a two-pronged hypothesis that stands in stark contrast to some of the received wisdom on cyber-security. Maximising the destructive potential of a cyber-weapon is likely to come with a double effect: it will significantly increase the resources, intelligence and time required for development and deployment – and more destructive potential is likely to decrease the number of targets, the risk of collateral damage and the political utility of cyber-weapons.
Covered by
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BBC Radio 5, 31 May 2012
[audio:/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/rid-bbc5-flame.mp3]RUSI podcast, 23 April 2012
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[audio:/audio/rid-monocle.mp3]“Why Anonymous will never be able to take down the power grid,” Jerry Brito, 27 February 2012
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