Threats Posed to Modern Industrialised States by Electronic Attacks

Essay from the year 2002 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, grade: 19 of 20, University of Aberdeen (Department of International Relations), course: Course: Issues in International Relations (PI 1506), language: English, abstract: One feature of the nation-state is that it has the right to declare war to another na-tion-state (Hughes 1998). Terrorist attacks like that of 11 September 2001 on the World Trade Center (WTC) and the reaction of the USA namely to declare war to the Al Qaeda respectively terrorism, blurs this right, because the terrorists are not a na-tion-state that can be war declared on. The attacks of the terrorists against Western capitalism can also be regarded as a kind of war. Here the war is not declared by a na-tion-state but by a terrorist group. For the reason that International Relations is, among other areas, interested in the processes that concern nation-states, the issue of electronic attacks posed to nation-states is important to be examined. The main purpose of this essay will be to show that modern states can be threat-ened by electronic attacks. To get into the topic the history of the Internet will be roughly outlined. Then the threats, which can be imposed through this medium, will be basically dealt with as well as the question who launches electronic attacks where, when and why. This essay will also limit its focus concerning the ways in which an electronic attack can be done. Attacks through an electronic network, namely the Internet will be the main focus here. Other devices apart from electronic jamming , HERF Guns , EMP Bombs will only briefly be mentioned. To be not beyond the scope of this essay the USA will be special attention given to as a deputy for a modern industrial state, because no other country is yet as depend-ent on electronic technology as the USA and therefore vulnerable to electronic at-tacks. But Japan or Europe might be in the future in a similar situation as the USA is today. This paper might therefore be perceived as an early warning, as a mirror or a crystal ball that shows a possible vision of a future scenario of the modern industrial-ised states. Finally concepts of measures against electronic attacks and a future outlook will round off this text. [...]