Matthew RosenquistFounder & CISO Advisor, Cybersecurity Insights · CISO, Cybersecurity Strategist, & Industry Advisor

Concerns of a New Digital Cold War

15 Mar 2021 · 3 min

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3:16

In this commentary, the speaker warns that nations are beginning to shape what cyber actions are considered acceptable, potentially ushering in a new digital Cold War. He cites a recent report alleging Chinese-linked malware that disrupted power generation in India, and references prior nation‑state attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and other critical systems. The speaker argues that offensive cyber capabilities now allow states to strike vital services—voting machines, water, electricity, transportation—without geographic proximity, threatening economies, public health, and political freedoms. Drawing a parallel to the geopolitical tensions of the 1970s‑80s Cold War, he predicts a future where countries can directly impair essential infrastructure, causing blackouts, water contamination, or supply chain disruptions. He calls for an international dialogue to define clear red lines—what should never be targeted and what constitutes an act of war—otherwise states may continue to push boundaries recklessly, endangering global citizens.

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Nations may be defining what is acceptable for cyber attacks in the next digital Cold War. Now, there's a report that's coming out talking about how certain malware, possibly from China, impacted the power supply and the power stations in India last year. And this isn't the first time we've seen nation-state attacks against critical infrastructure like power supplies in Ukraine and in other parts of the world. And the question really becomes, are nations defining what's acceptable? What critical infrastructure— voting machines, water supplies, electricity, transportation— It's hard to tell, but as nations move forward, they're realizing cyber capabilities, offensive cyber capabilities, can reach adversaries from anywhere in the world. You don't have to share a border. You can reach out and influence them and potentially put them on their heels, impact their economy, impact the health of their nation, and even their liberties and freedoms, their right to choose their own leaders. This is concerning, and I can't imagine any major nation out there trying to push the boundaries. But just as we were in the '70s and '80s where we had the Warsaw and NATO countries going at it quietly in a Cold War, And it was the heyday for espionage and assassination attempts and overthrowing governments, or attempting to, and using puppet governments to control things. We're going to see a new type of Cold War where countries can directly or indirectly impact those critical functions and services of their adversaries. And that may mean the lights going out, that may mean the water supply turning off or going foul, that may be a reduction in the capability to distribute food and fuel. This is a concerning time, and I think all nations kind of need to sit down and formally decide, hey, what is off the table, what should never be impacted, what constitutes a war. Until then, I think we're going to see more countries potentially recklessly pushing the boundaries and impacting governments and policy and ultimately impacting citizens around the globe. So we have to get a grip on this. We are in the middle of some very interesting times, and we'll see where this takes us.