CYBERSPACE: THE NEW WORLD WAR !!

Two bullets in the heart at close range. A modern confit, old methods . Recently killed with a revolver in the woods northwest of Tehran (Iran), Mojtaba Ahmadi, commander of the headquarters of cyberwar of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is listed first victim of a new world war , secret vicious : cyber warfare . For some, it might even digital confit become the mother of all battles.

Will be master of the world one that will Airbender " predicted Clément Ader, French engineer and aviation pioneer .

Before the Italian General Giulio Douhet not make air superiority the backbone of any military strategy as " the bomber always pass ."

Findings of the twentieth century now obsolete . At a time when phone , watch, car and even electric meter connect to the internet, " cyberspace is it not called in turn to dominate the other elements , earth , water and air ? " asks Michel Baud, officer Army and researcher at the French Institute of International Relations ( IFRI ) .

Parallel to cyber espionage , the question of the digital battlefield is becoming more and more prevalent for the armies of the world. In the United States , the most advanced in the field, the defense and war-torn countries are thought in all areas : air, land, sea, space and cyberspace.

President Barack Obama may well lead not only retaliate but also computer keystrokes " preventive " when the White House has tangible evidence announcing a major cyberattack . All in connection with the Cyber ​​Command, headed by General Keith Alexander , head of the famous NSA , which " led military cyber operations in order to enable actions in all areas ."

Test their own shields

Americans, like the Israelis , do not hesitate to develop cyber weapons can penetrate into enemy computer systems to spy on and / or destroyed. Power digital fire that resulted in the decommissioning of real targets such as radars and communication devices or electricity supply .

Viruses are poised to replace the bombing in order to support actions on the ground. Before an air raid on Syria, Israel would have launched a digital strikes to destroy radar and paralyze the opponent's air defense .

The development of offensive capabilities also test their own shields to avoid being a victim similar to those designed by teams cyberattacks . Especially since, in cyberspace, some hackers on the payroll of a state or a terrorist group enough to put off several days on a country like Estonia.

Great Russia


It all began in 2007 in this small former Soviet republic that declared its independence in 1991. This year, a symbolic confit opposes the new state became hyper- and high-tech to neighboring Russia , which still does not support that he decided to strike out on his own.

To assert its sovereignty , the Estonian Government to remove a monument to the glory of the USSR in a public garden Tallinn , its capital. As the tension is at its height, attack blocking computer networks of public services but also banks and all connected systems , many in Estonia. The country is paralyzed.

This attack , although it uses computers "ghosts" controlled remotely from other countries, has originated ... Russia. This is the first time a conflict between States turns to cyberwarfare .

Second target : Georgia, in 2008. This time, the Great Russia accompanied by computer keystrokes offensive troops and his chariots . The damage is limited or symbolic , because internet is underdeveloped in the small Caucasus republic .

But the step was taken : conventional war is now complemented by a digital war. And perhaps above, replaces or can avoid .

Conflict with Iran

The example of Iran, where cyber warfare is probably the most intense , is speaking . While Israelis and Americans threaten to bomb Tehran's nuclear facilities to prevent build the atomic bomb , the conflict already raging in cyberspace.

In 2010, Stuxnet malware , probably co-produced by American and Israeli intelligence , has notably been introduced into computer systems controlling the centrifuges that enrich the uranium necessary for the production of atomic weapons . The operation was renewed in 2012, with another program , spy this time , Flame .

Conclusion: damaged centrifuges, sometimes destroyed. Some have even exploded. What , perhaps , allow time for Western diplomats to persuade the Iranians to abandon their nuclear projects. And avoid a war , this time with missiles .

If , in the Near and Middle East, primarily opposed cyberwar little Israel has mastered the technology, its Arab neighbors and Muslim , another digital battlefield , just as virulent rages between the two new global giants : The United States and China . But the secretive Chinese unit " 61398 " would be mainly affected the economic and military cyber espionage . Because Beijing knows that if he wants to dominate the United States and the world , he must absolutely closing the technological gap .

To win this bet economic , commercial, digital , China has chosen to ... Western steal secrets. A low-cost method , which can yield large , and apparently safe .

But cyber warfare , like all limited conflicts can escalate. In response to a cyber attack affecting " their existence ," the Americans have even recently threatened to respond with nuclear weapons.