Great civilisations still rest on four pillars: a flourishing economy, scintillating arts, inspired research and strong defence. If one of these pillars were to crumble, the civilisation would be doomed to failure. The major transformation in our generation is the Internet. All computers on the planet are linked together, and a mere half-second is needed to connect your computer to one situated anywhere in the world. An attack can be mounted in the same time-scale. However, much of the information that is most critical to our economies is now located in our computers and transits through the Internet. Could cyberterrorists wage a cyberwar that would lead to the destruction of our economies and hence the end of our civilisation? Are such thoughts mere paranoia? What are the real threats and how can we defend against them?

In the light of recent events, it is now clear that the content of computers is often crucial: General Rondeau’s laptop revealed what he had noted down in the Clearstream affair, even though he thought he had erased the data; seizure of the laptop belonging to the number two in the FARC, Raoul Reyes, provided the Colombian services with vital information about the guerrillas and led to many arrests and eliminations; the intercept of hundreds of instantaneous messages between Jérôme Kerviel and Moussa Bakir gave the investigators clues to the ins and outs of their relationship. What is also new and totally unexpected is that downloadable information, even videos of known individuals, can appear on the Internet after only a few hours, and may then be accessed by tens of thousands of web surfers. For example, the video of Tom Cruise talking about scientology has been downloaded more than half a million times on YouTube. No television station or media has such an impact. No state, no sect, even the most powerful and totalitarian, can prevent information from infiltrating and remaining indefinitely on the web. Not only that, but disconnecting yourself from the Internet, as Burma did temporarily recently, is the economic equivalent of a return to the Middle Ages.

The Big One

As part of an effective national defence, Western civilisations must therefore fully understand these tools and must protect individuals and companies from the perils of the Internet.