The Next World War: Computers Are the Weapons & the Front Line Is Everywhere

In The Next World War, James Adams shows how a new chapter in military history is being written as the Information Age comes to the battlefield: to bigger and stronger, now add smarter.
But the most sugnificant and important use of information warfare won't be on the battlefield. The most devastating weapons will be those that target an enemy's infrastructure - air-control systems, electrical grids, and communication networks, to name just a few potential targets. By hacking into computer systems, the United States could override programmed commands and thus shut down air traffic control systems, and open floodgates and bridges. Misinformation could even be broadcast, for example, by using imaging technology to simulate a television appearance by an enemy nation's leaders. This type of combat puts civilians at more risk than ever, as financial, communications, transportation, and other infrastructure systems become prime military targets. And information warfare puts the United States - a nation increasingly dependent on technology - in a position of both definite advantage and extreme vulnerability.

James Adams is the Chief Executive Officer of United Press International.