Cyber Warfare and Critical Infrastructure

Abstract

This paper identifies the growing threat that cyber warfare poses to a country's Critical Infrastructure (CI) and the Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) that accompanies it. CI is a term that describes all of the essential systems and services needed for the nation to function. CII describes the Information Systems responsible for the CI's operation. This includes energy grids, finance, water supplies, transportation, and healthcare facilities. This paper will focus mainly on the CI related to energy grids and finance. With the growing integration of digital technologies into these sectors and their CII, efficiency and connectivity have greatly been improved but have also introduced many vulnerabilities, making CII a prime target for cyberattacks. This paper will thoroughly examine cyber warfare's consequences on a country and its CI using real-world examples to determine its risks. A theoretical approach and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) framework will be analysed using case studies to identify the methods for detecting and patching vulnerabilities in CII. The analysis findings will be used to underscore the necessity of governments and industry leaders to invest in developing a strategy to protect and safeguard the country's CI and CII against cyber warfare.