Cyber-terrorism, the birth of a modern day warfare
The modern world is caught between two extreme ends of terrorism. One that we know well, that kills people based on agendas and has a defined shape; the other one is exactly the opposite, it has no face, it doesn't kill but steals, it disrupts world economies and we are very ill-equipped to protect ourselves from it. This is how cyber-terrorism is crippling us.
The concept of a cyber- attack
Cyber-attack is as old as technology itself. Now that we are repeatedly being jolted by its mayhem, we are starting to take notice of it. A typical cyber-attack in very rudimentary terms is like a communicable disease of sorts that ends up rapidly infecting vulnerable computers and these machines are unable to protect themselves, as they have not been fortified against such malicious attacks.
All one needs is a computer
All it takes to wage a war against the world, that is heavily reliant on technology, is a computer and few lines of code. Cyber-terrorism groups are spread out across countries in active groups with extensive knowledge of softwares. Some hacker groups, like Anonymous, have a cause based outlook, some are teenagers trying to get quick Internet fame, while others are malicious and vindictive.
Understanding the risk at hand
There are several forms of cyber-terrorism - viruses that can wipe your computer clean or make your processor really slow or worms that are capable of multiplying themselves bogging down systems; and yes, ransomware's like WannaCry. Nowadays, we also see increased cases of cyber-espionage. Organizations get sabotaged via malware, banking systems get hacked, sensitive data gets wiped, if demands are not met.
Look, before you leap
While there are several harmful threats out there, sometimes we end up falling into traps by ourselves. For example, most of the times while we are using apps on the Google Play store, we don't check for what we are giving permissions or while surfing the net, we don't bother even if a website looks shady and has no HTTPS security certificate in it.
It's happening in every country
Why are we so inept to face these attacks? It is because we do not fully comprehend the gravity of these attacks unless we become the victims ourselves. It doesn't only happen to big organizations or in developed countries, it is now taking place everywhere and according to reports, the risks are rising by the minute. Wake up, before it's too late.
