This post was originally published in French only. We translated it in 2026 so the archive reads the same in both languages. Read the original →
Last week, we learned that several American media outlets were the target of cyberattacks, by all evidence coming from China. Over the weekend, the American government even went as far as issuing statements saying it would take any attack seriously and that measures would be taken to secure not only government infrastructure but also the private sector. For its part, China, obviously, denies all the accusations, arguing that it's impossible to attribute the actions directly to the Chinese government. On both sides, the arguments are legitimate.
One thing is irritating, though: many people don't seem to take the threat very seriously. For too long, the possibilities of electronic terrorism or electronic warfare weren't taken seriously. As a result, North America lags significantly behind when it comes to information security.
Is the paradigm of traditional warfare a thing of the past? Is war as we know it still even possible?
At a time when we live in a unified economy, where most nations are involved in significant economic exchanges, it seems unlikely that a traditional war would pit two economically linked nations against each other. What options for confrontation are left for these opponents who are "allies" by default? It goes without saying that our governments need to develop offensive computing capabilities. Unfortunately, on the virtual operational battlefield, we and our allies are not the masters of the game. Are we facing the beginning of a new era? Only time will tell.