The Rise of a New Worldwide Cold War

Humans have a problem….we like to fight each other. If it isn’t an all out mano-o-mano, then its one nation against another, or one group fighting another with a different set of philosophical, religious or political point of view. After 5 million years of human evolution, I’ve become convinced that war is simply part of our DNA.

From 1950 until the late 1980’s when President Ronald Reagan, Mikel Gorbachav and Pope John Paul II brought an end to it, this world was steeped in a very blistery Cold War, always under the blanket of nuclear destruction. Thankfully, the world has been able to breath a sigh of relief from that threat now for 20 years. However, on 9/11 all that came to an end and the world is now in a new struggle with its newly proclaimed “War on Terror.” We are always making war on something, even benevolent causes such as Poverty, Hunger, Drugs, etc.

Well, now it would seem we have yet another major Cold War to concern ourselves with, and quite frankly, nobody should be surprised by it.

Reuters News Service is reporting that a “cyber Cold War,” waged over the world’s computers, threatens to become one of the biggest threats to security in the next decade, according to a report published on Thursday.

About 120 countries are developing ways to use the Internet as a weapon to target financial markets, government computer systems and utilities, Internet security company McAfee said in an annual report.

“Cybercrime is now a global issue,” said Jeff Green, senior vice president of McAfee Avert Labs. “It has evolved significantly and is no longer just a threat to industry and individuals but increasingly to national security.”

The number one culprit at the head of the class is China. That country is at the forefront of the cyber war. The report stated that China has been blamed for attacks in the United States, India and Germany. Of course, like any good little war-monger, China has repeatedly denied such claims.

“The Chinese were first to use cyber-attacks for political and military goals,” James Mulvenon, director of the Center for Intelligence and Research in Washington, was quoted as saying in the report.

The McAfee report predicted that future attacks would be even more sophisticated.

“Attacks have progressed from initial curiosity probes to well-funded and well-organised operations for political, military, economic and technical espionage,” it said.

The full Mcafee Report can be found HERE.