next-generation-cyberweapons
Advanced, learning-capable cyberattack programs that can adapt, evolve, and resist shutdown, posing unprecedented threats to critical systems.
1 chapter across 1 book
The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the Twenty-first Century's Greatest Dilemma (2023)Mustafa Suleyman; Michael Bhaskar
Chapter 10 explores the vulnerabilities of modern nation-states to sophisticated cyberattacks, exemplified by the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack on the UK's NHS, which exploited leaked NSA cyberweapons technology. It highlights the democratization and plummeting cost of power enabled by emerging technologies, which amplify both constructive and destructive capabilities, thereby increasing systemic fragility and risk. The chapter warns of a future where autonomous, evolving cyberweapons and robotic offensive technologies could destabilize critical infrastructure and challenge the state's monopoly on security.