Cyberwar 2013 post 5

I read an article on ABCnews.com called "Top 5 Ways to Prepare for the Coming Cyber War" by Adam Levin. It discussed the possibilities of an upcoming cyberwar and the ways that a cyber war could seriously affect our day to day lives. As if we don't have enough things to worry about, the cyberwar described is one of the scariest modern ways of warfare that could cause more harm than anything we have ever seen before.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/top-ways-prepare-coming-cyber-war/story?id=18570685#

A quote from the article shows just how much damage can  be done:

"A worst-case scenario would feature a cornucopia of catastrophe such as shutting down major sections of the power grid, erasing millions of bank accounts, manipulating or hijacking tens of millions of identities, and/or disrupting transportation systems throughout the land. Simply put -- systems failure."

The five ways to prepare for the coming cyber war included (these are summarized)
1.) Print it AND store it (bank transactions/ documental proof)
2.) Get all records and certificates together, make copies and store in waterproof packages
3.) Have emergency basics around the house (food, money, candles)
4.) Work with your neighbors to make up a plan if an emergency situation may occur
5.) Demand from government a unified security standard from places such as nuclear powerplants and subway systems

This all scares me a lot. I think about how much I, and all the people around me, rely on technology, transportation and much much more. All of the things that are saved on computers would never be able to fit on paper, but we have to keep only the most personal information stored securely so that nothing happens to those irreplaceable things. I know that typical warfare kills people, but a cyberwar would affect thousands, maybe even millions more people and the outcome would not be pretty. Bottom line: Technology can be used for good, and for evil!