Cyber Warfare in Modern Conflicts: Implications for Engineering Education

Abstract

In light of the growing trend toward digitization of critical infrastructure systems and inter-connectedness, cyberspace has emerged as a strategic battleground in modern warfare. State and non-state actors taking part in cyber warfare activities use advanced computational techniques to gain access into and alter data contained in information systems. This paper presents a detailed technical and pedagogical understanding of cyber warfare including attack strategies like DDoS attacks, APTs, zero-day exploits, and ransomware. It also discusses the utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technology in cyber warfare attacks and countermeasures against such attacks. Network-centric warfare, cyber physical systems, vulnerabilities in various domains like energy, financial, and telecommunication sectors have also been discussed in the paper. Apart from this, there are certain challenges that have been examined in the current paper including attribution, real-time threat detection, and defense, and the misappropriation of AI by hackers for propaganda purposes. Cybersecurity should be included in engineering education curriculum keeping in mind the modern technological trends.