Al-Qalam 
As tensions rise between Iran and the U.S, the Cyber Command will make much use of hyper-aggressive malware to attack Iran’s command and control systems.
In today’s super hi-tech military environment, nothing in the military arena is impenetrable. The most advanced military systems on this planet can and will be penetrated.
Irans’s heavily guarded missile network, was recently disabled because of a flaw woven into its protection shield. Nations have developed a new paradigm that reflects realities of cyberspace which expands the battlefield anywhere to which the internet extends.
With the advent of computers and subsequently the networks that connect them, a new door has opened in the hallways of warfare. Cyber warfare scenarios will lead to attacks against banks. manupilating stock prices, disabling trains, traffic lights, leading to gridlock and chaos.
We will witness attackers combining outright destructive attacks focused on critical infrastructure with data manipulation on a massive scale. We will witness the possibility of hackers disabling power stations, opening dams and the premature meltdowns of nuclear reactors.
There is good reason to believe that cyber warfare is the ultimate weapon of the 21st century. It will be a game changer, unlike any other weapon in human history, it leaves no finger or foot prints, there are no explosions, no fall out or radiation, it’s lethality lies in its capacity to achieve victory without firing a single metal weapon.
There are no geographical boundaries and the domains are beyond the reach of traditional norms such as the Geneva Convention.
Plausible denials will become future diplomatic responses, intrusion by cyber stealth becomes the new tool for global dominance.
Warfare has always been executed within easily defined periods of time and geographic boundaries. Wars are declared and when objectives are reached or abandoned, the combatants return home.
Cyber warfare is fought on keyboards with armies of ones and zeroes acting like soldiers executing orders
Cyber or digital warfare involves crippling adversaries through information systems on the internet. Electronic warfare and cyberspace operations are complimentary and have potentially synergistic effects. Formulations and terms or this type of warfare, as well as its components and tasks differ in various countries.
Every facet of combat is permeated today by technology such as sensors, networks, navigation aids and smart digital bombs that depend on access to the electromagnetic spectrum in order to function. It isn’t surprising that experts disagree about which capabilities should get highest priorities.
But there are at least a few core principles that most planners can embrace, and one of them is that in the information age, if you cannot control the electromagnetic spectrum then you cannot win wars. Integrating effective, reliable, affordable electronic warfare equipment with onboard aircraft systems and global information grids will require advances in electronic warfare hardware and battle-management software.
Undeniably, the face of warfare is changing. Reducing vulnerability to asymmetric threats is vital for any countries to survival and dominance in future operations.
Throughout the past quarter century, the asymmetric threat has become a common form of warfare throughout the world. Electronic and cyber warfare will be the deciding factor between the victor and the vanquished.
Today, we stand on the precipice of new warfare. No longer is it necessary for people or weapons to be present. The silent and deadly battles of the future will not be fought on the ground or at sea or in the air.
The next supreme battles will be waged behind computers and servers. As a last resort, a nation facing defeat could resort to launching an electo-magnetic pulse weapon that could destroy and devastate electrical systems over a vast range, sending humanity back into the dark ages.
Farouk Araie.
JOHANNESBURG.
