The cyberwarfare landscape is changing — here’s how to prepare

To date, damaging cyberattacks have largely focused on financial gain or network access, resulting in major business impacts and some disruption to daily life, rather than life-threatening consequences. 

Even incidents like the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, which showed us how the cyber world and our physical lives intersect, stopped far short of societal disruption. Recovery was relatively quick once Colonial Pipeline paid its ransom.

However, the threat of cyberwar has been building, influenced by advancements in AI and increased presence of actors in U.S. systems and telecommunication networks. A military conflict could escalate these attacks to scale, crippling critical infrastructure and public safety systems like power grids, transportation networks and emergency response, even disrupting military communications and undermining response. 

When used as cyberwarfare, attackers are unlikely to offer an option to pay a ransom and resume normal operations without gaining a strategic advantage. And even more alarming—the barrier ...