Cyber Warfare in 2024: Are We Headed towards a Global Cyber Arms Race?

BIPSS Research Assistant Saraf Wasima explores the growing significance of cyber warfare in global security, emphasizing its impact on financial systems, election interference, and critical infrastructure. She highlights how cyber operations blur traditional war and peace, allowing state and non-state actors to exert asymmetric power with low-cost digital attacks.

Analyzing recent cyber conflicts in 2024, she questions whether the world is entering a cyber arms race. While nations are rapidly expanding their cyber capabilities, the transient nature of cyber weapons and economic interdependencies may prevent full-scale digital warfare. She examines the increasing role of artificial intelligence in cyber conflicts, where AI-driven malware and disinformation campaigns pose new security challenges. While AI-powered defense systems are evolving, she warns of ethical concerns and the risks of escalation without global regulations. She argues that fragmented international cooperation has left critical digital infrastructure vulnerable. To prevent unchecked cyber conflicts, she calls for stronger global regulations, intelligence-sharing mechanisms, and adaptive security strategies to counter emerging threats.