The dawn of Kinetic Cyber

Cyber attacks are often called non-violent or non-kinetic attacks, but the simple truth is that there is a credible capability to use cyber attacks to achieve kinetic effects. Kinetic Cyber refers to a class of cyber attacks that can cause direct or indirect physical damage, injury or death solely though the exploitation of vulnerable information systems and processes. Kinetic cyber attacks are a real and growing threat that is generally being ignored as unrealistic or alarmist. These types of attacks have been validated experimentally in the laboratory environment, they have been used operationally in the context of espionage and sabotage, and they have been used criminally in a number of attacks throughout the world. While these types of attacks have thus far been statistically insignificant, the rapid growth and integration of cyber physical systems into everything from automobiles to SCADA systems implies a significant kinetic cyber threat in the near future. It is imperative that the security community begin to take these types of threats seriously and address vulnerabilities associated with cyber physical systems and other devices that could be utilized to cause kinetic effects through cyber attacks.