About this article In addition to my job here at ZATZ, I'm also the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals and a columnist for The Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security International. As you probably know, Russia has attacked Georgia (Tblisi, not Atlanta) with tanks and troops. However, before the physical attack, there was a cyberattack against many of Georgia's online resources. First indications seemed to imply the cyberattack originated as a Russian offensive, while later analysis by some sources dispute that, claiming that "script kiddies" are behind the assault. I wrote the article you're about to read for the current issue of Counterterrorism. Given the timing of the Georgia attack, we felt it'd also be of interest to our Computing Unplugged and OutlookPower readers. Special thanks go to the editors of Counterterrorism for allowing us to reprint it here.

When it comes to a future cyberwar, the issue is no longer if it'll happen. Instead, the concern is when it'll happen, how bad it'll be, and how many attacks we'll have to withstand.

Cyberwar is inevitable. From the perspective of our enemies, waging a cyberwar is just too easy and too effective to ignore. Put bluntly, a cyberwar has an excellent ROI (Return on Investment).

Clausewitz observed, "War is a continuation of politics by other means." Information warfare -- a cyberwar -- war waged via computers and the Internet, certainly can further a political agenda. What makes cyberwar such a potent threat, though, is the economic implications. Not only can a cyberwar damage enemies, unlike virtually ever other war-fighting modality, a well-run cyberwar can also become a profit center through activities like organized identity theft.