[quote=@Dinh AaronMk]
Well I'm one that's shifting more to the camp that the cyber world might play a greater impact on the conflict field than nuclear weapons or even conventional warfare. Physical damage won't be so much wrought with bombs, but through abuse of the internationally connected world. In the sort of environment when US and Isreali black-hats can hack and shut down Iranian nuclear test reactors, then it's actually not impossible for non-state groups or others to do the same back; considering that a lot of these cyber contractors probably were at one point "criminal" individuals hacking for self benefit or for shits and giggles.

So on that level there's maybe two ways to go about things as a self defense. Rigorous and draconian censorship, or Stasi level self-moderation within the community (which someone accused a [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nSHsb5xKPo]TED speaker of promoting in comments[/url]).

The potential of cyber warfare is interesting and ignored. Non-state groups now have the same tools as global powers today by abusing Google Maps to pick up Sat Nav maps of regions, and there's even phone apps that track the movements and whereabouts of airplanes. And with the use of Tor/The Onion Browser you can achieve basically complete anonymity and encryption the military would have once only enjoyed.

So if I was scripty enough and maybe had enough bitcoin I could maybe organize an attack on someone's server and take it over.
[/quote]

Funny you mention that.  One of my future scenarios involved a one world government formed after a global cyber war between multiple factions of international political machines in a world where nation states are far more fluid.

Whoever controls the machines, controls the world.

It sounds insane, but I figure quantum computers may actually make this scenario a possibility.  Of course this also requires every government on Earth thinking that a global net with quantum computing based infrastructure is a good idea.  Which it isn't and with governments like China's out there, good luck eroding the nation state for now.