UK public worried about cyberwarfare

A new survey of 2,000 people in the UK for the International Cyber Expo shows that 72 percent believe that cyberwarfare is likely to be the next step in modern combat.

Over half of people (52 percent) said they believe cyberwarfare may be the next step in warfare combined with physical tactics.

A further 20 percent of people say that cyberwarfare will outpace physical warfare entirely. However, only five percent of the public believe that cyberwarfare will never replace physical warfare.

Amid escalating geopolitical tensions worldwide, nearly a third (31 percent) of the British public admitted to feeling 'scared' about the prospect of cyberwarfare. Furthermore, the research found that six percent of Britons believe we are already in the midst of a 'cyber war.'

"Cyberspace is the perfect grey zone between war and peace. State and non-state actors can operate in this ambiguous and frequently anonymized domain more aggressively and with greater risk appetite than they would in the physical world. The danger of miscalculation is consequently far more heightened," says Tarquin Folliss, vice chairman of the Security Awareness Special Interest Group (SASIG). "So, the public is right to worry about conflict in cyberspace and where it could lead. Cyberwarfare, however, is unlikely to develop as an independent capability or effect. The weaponization of cyberspace will continue to evolve as one component of the armory that governments can call on to prosecute war."

Among other things respondents are scared about are: cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure (54 percent), nation state activities (43 percent), the use of AI in online scams (33 percent), disinformation swaying global politics (31 percent), deepfakes (21 percent), phishing emails (15 percent), social engineering (12 percent) and fake ads/giveaways (12 percent).

International Cyber Expo will be held next week, September 24th and 25th 2024 at Olympia London.

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