Australia is facing a new kind of threat—a type of warfare where cyber criminals, not soldiers, hold the power to cripple entire cities.
So what is modern warfare? And could we be targeted in the future?
On Wednesday’s episode of The Briefing, we sat down with Skeeve Stevens, a former hacker turned future crime researcher. He described how vulnerable Australia’s critical infrastructure is to cyberattacks, with the potential to bring major cities to a standstill in a matter of hours.
Stevens explained that a well-planned cyberattack could target key infrastructure such as electricity grids, water supplies, and data centres, all of which are integral to a city’s functioning.
“Most major cities sit on top of a few key critical points. You take out electricity, you’re taking out a bulk of the main city obviously,” he said.
The concept of modern warfare has evolved dramatically. Unlike traditional wars, where military forces would clash with physical weapons, today’s threats are digital.
Stevens highlighted that modern warfare involves not just foreign adversaries, but also domestic threats that exploit cyber vulnerabilities.
“There’s many people like me that have very well designed vehicles that are designed to operate in the metro areas, communication systems that even the military and law enforcement can’t intercept and listen to,” Stevens added.
As cyberattacks become more sophisticated, he highlighted the need for greater awareness and preparation.
“People don’t realise that on a daily basis that foreign actors or hackers are trying to attack us and they’re going after things like Optus and Medicare and all the different other sorts of infrastructure that have a lot of information about us.”
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