Cyberattacks on Critical Infrastructure and Potential Sustainable Development Impacts

Introduction

With the advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), all complex systems such as critical infrastructure are connected through multi-layered network systems through the internet which is widely known as cyberspace (Choucri and Clark, 2013). Figures 1 and 2 show the growth of both ICT development, and the mostly used language on the internet (Internetworldstats, 2013). Public and private sectors, and individuals from developing and less developed countries are becoming more connected to the internet using their own native languages. This makes them more susceptible to potential cybercrimes due of lack of security awareness.

Figure 1.

Global ICT development

Figure 2.

Distribution of internet languages and their growth

We have seen many industrial disasters in the past that are attributed to operational accidents due to human or system errors and in many instances the consequences were disastrous in nature such as Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Bhopal chemical complex in India. Today, potential similar disastrous effects can be attributed to cyberattacks from either criminals or terrorists who want to inflict harm on societies. Cyberwars and cyberterrorism is on the increase and at a faster rate. The objective of this article is to shed the light at the sustainable development consequences of cyberattacks on the critical infrastructure and to highlight their economic, social, and environment impacts which may not be limited to the boundary of one country.

Cyberspace And Cybersecurity

Cyberspace can be defined as “the diverse experiences of space associated with computing and related technologies” (Strate, 1999). Cyberspace is a virtual world that hold the global information infrastructure which consists of communication networks, hardware and software, applications, and content creations that will generate knowledge (Spinello, 2002). Today, critical infrastructures and complex engineering systems such as transportation, energy, water and wastewater, manufacturing, buildings, etc. are fully dependent on ICT technologies which make them an easy target for cyber threats (Harris, 2002). Cyber terrorisms, not just cybercrimes, are targeting the critical infrastructure of countries through their information systems with the intention to cause both physical and human harm (Hua & Bapna, 2013). Cyberattacks on Estonia in 2007 and Stuxnet worm attack in Iran are only a demonstration of future cyber wars and most of such attacks are attributed to Russia, China and USA (Talbot, 2010; Ventre, 2012; Czosseck et al., 2011). Cybersecurity is one of the biggest challenges facing the modern world.