What is cyber warfare? Understand how cyber attacks work

Cyberwar is the name given to conflicts that take place in the digital sphere, where weapons and soldiers give way to malware and hackers. In such a scenario, attacks by a country - or organization - on the enemy's main objective is to destabilize systems controlling infrastructure, networks, telecommunications, and even devices connected to the population, in efforts of varying levels of complexity and impact.

Unlike the isolated actions of hackers, attacks classified as cyber warfare operations aim to cause real damage from virtual attacks. Taking down the internal network of power plants to promote a blackout in the enemy country, compromising lines of communication to impair the circulation of information, interfering with air traffic monitoring and platforms that perform logistical control of the circulation of products and services are examples of tactics that can be orchestrated in virtual conflicts.

The discussion about the meaning and impacts of cyberwarfare has been on the rise due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As tensions have intensified, it is believed that the war may go beyond the physical battlefields and into the virtual environment. Below, Techidence explains what cyberwarfare is and how it works, the most common types of attacks, and how citizens can protect themselves.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:25 The Cyber War Between Russia and Ukraine
3:46 What Cyberwar is and How It Works
4:58 Attack types
6:55 Examples of cyber-warfare
9:56 How to defend yourself in a cyberwar