Since ancient times, people have fought by all means for a better place under the sun, and under the moon too. A conflict arose over the possession of a fertile valley, better pastures, and so on. Victories gave self-affirmation among other tribes, booty and slaves …
Somewhat positive (according to the conclusions of historians) were unification wars, when some prince conquered neighbors, both near and far, and ultimately created a fairly strong state. A distinctive feature of those distant "half-childish" wars was that they did not spoil nature in any way and did not threaten to exterminate the entire human race. It is true that entire tribes and peoples were exterminated (and with great cruelty), but nothing threatened humanity as a whole.
As time went. The struggle for survival and assertion forced us to look for more and more new weapons. Fights before the battle and other knightly habits went into legends. The generals preferred to destroy the enemy en masse and immediately. Until the middle of the twentieth century, it was still possible to use any new weapon without harming the planet. But then humanity matured to the invention of a previously unprecedented nuclear, chemical and bacteriological potential. The entire globe is saturated with it to the eyeballs. It remains only for someone first to press the button.
So, humanity has matured, but not yet foolish enough to use this potential. Let the politicians shout and quarrel, the generals declare their readiness, but everyone understands perfectly well that there will be no winners in a new war, that even an unanswered ricochet blow will reach the instigator, and how will it get it! And who, in fact, needs a destroyed, contaminated enemy territory for many years? It is desirable, after all, that it be inhabited and filled with cheap labor. But how can this be achieved? Meanwhile, certain forces are preparing for a new redistribution of the world. They dream of him. Sometimes there are local wars, but the planet as a whole is holding on.
Now let's talk about computers. The world is now undergoing general computerization. Regardless of whether the country is backward, like its economy, whether there is a crisis of power, computers are gradually penetrating into all spheres. Even the global crisis cannot stop this process.
I remember how I used to take train tickets. There are seats - they issue a ticket, no - they don't. Picture today. The train has arrived, there are free seats, and everyone knows about it, but the Network is frozen. There is no access to the server, and the girl in blue cannot do anything. She won't sell a ticket without a computer. There is no turning back. Electronic equipment appeared in stores and even in pharmacies. There is no connection, and you will not be told the price of a rarely bought medicine. You will not receive money at an ATM if the bank has problems with the server. True, such failures do not occur often. The Network is being worked on, its quality is constantly being improved, and the systems are being looked after. But if a severe virus has entered your office …
I remember well how it happened in my office. The network virus was launched in Germany, crossed half of Europe and reached our factory. It helped a lot that an outdated connection was laid between the departments - a slow ten-megabit one. Therefore, when our computers began to fail, we managed to warn a number of departments. However, half of the engineers were unable to work for three days until the virus was pacified. Several workshops also stopped, which were charged through the network with programs for CNC machines (numerical control). And only one virus, written by a brave hacker, did it!
But what if you carefully prepare a package or many packages of similar viruses and release them into a computer network of a not very friendly country? This is a weapon of global power! Can you imagine the consequences? Factories will stop, power plants will not be able to function properly, transport will be paralyzed, banks will not be able to perform a single operation. Complete destabilization of the economy and life! It's time to stir up the people with some kind of cultural revolution and slip the needed government. And there is no need to bring in troops.
But there are no boundaries on the Internet. How can viruses tell who to attack? Elementary! By territoriality or by the language that is used. In addition, you can pre-supply the desired regions with the vaccine. It is better to invent a poison together with an antidote.
The further into the future, the more destructive such an attack will be … or a war … This is where we return to the title of the article. Computers every year, even a month, more and more penetrate into all the niches of our activity, and their slightest failures are immediately noticeable.
And purposeful impact will bring real chaos. The third world war will be a computer war. It is quite possible that intensive training is currently underway in the classified laboratories. Hackers create viruses mainly for the sake of daring, in order to assert themselves, to show themselves and to admire their "brilliant" results.
And specialists in the military departments work constantly and for good money. I am not suggesting that this is the case. It is very possible that I am mistaken. But the very idea of a massive viral raid is quite feasible.
I have been convinced more than once that reality is much more fantastic than the most daring fantasy. If some thought came to someone's mind, it is possible that a similar one will come tomorrow to someone else, completely
independent of the first head. And it is quite possible that this thought is already being realized somewhere.
So, let's think less about nonsense! True, why do we need the Third World War, even if it is a computer one?
