a number of city services from a single access point, putting public health and safety
at risk by a citywide blackout (Thibodeaux 2017). This shows that cyber warfare is
in fact “. . .one of the most serious threats of our time” (Schwab 2017) as admitted by
Klaus Schwab
13 who is generally very supportive of digitization but cites increased
vulnerability to cyber-attacks and loss of privacy as the two major disadvantages of
Smart Cities in his book The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Schwab 2017). Lowering
the threshold of war and blurring the distinction between war and peace, cyber war
may equally take place in the digital and in the physical world, hacking and attacking
all kinds of connected items –targeting military systems as well as civilian infrastructure including essential resources like food and water (Schwab 2017). Potential
adversaries may use cyber war “. . .to disrupt, confuse, or destroy the enemy’s
sensors, communications and decision-making capability” (Schwab 2017). The
victims of a cyber-attack may not even know who is attacking them or if they are
attacked at all (Schwab 2017). The attacker may be a political adversary, a competitor, or a terrorist, or an attack may be undistinguishable from a mere accident.
Terrorism using CBRNE materials (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear,
and explosives) poses a major risk for public health and safety, as well as the
economic and political stability on a global base (National Environmental Trainers
2018; Interpol 2018). CBRNE may cause mass fatalities in urban density centers.
Intelligence and Security experts predict that “. . .many CBRNE threats are developing and many terrorist cells are looking at different ways to create destruction
across major cities in Europe” (Intelligence-Sec 2018).
The extensive know-how of the British military facility Porton Down
14 in the
field of chemical and biological weapons (U.K. Government 2016; Gaytandzhieva
2018) may pose a serious threat to densely populated future cities on a worldwide
base. In addition to testing chemical and biological weapons on ca. 122,000 animals
as well as on human guinea pigs including 20,000 volunteers (Gaytandzhieva 2018;
U.K. Government 2016), Porton Down also used biological and chemical weapons
in field experiments including covert aerial release trials conducted on unsuspecting
British citizens from 1953 to 1976 as recently admitted by the British government
(Schwarz-Herion 2015c with further references; U.K. Government 2016) and chemical gas attacks on unwitting passengers in the London underground in 2013
(Gaytandzhieva 2018). Particularly Porton Down’s menacing experience with the
aerial release of bacteria (U.K. Government 2016) may be capable of causing mass
fatalities in megacities.
CBRNE weapons of mass destruction may also involve the use of weaponized
drones carrying explosives or sophisticated chemical and biological weapons (Byus
und Shaw 2017). Therefore, cities should be able to resort to efficient counter-drone
systems, for example, ApolloShield’s anti-drone system sending unauthorized drones
a “go home” command (AppolloShield 2018). Industrial control systems of
13 Founder and Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
14 One of the numerous Pentagon-financed military labs existing in 25 countries (Gaytandzhieva
2018).
234
O. Schwarz-Herion
at risk by a citywide blackout (Thibodeaux 2017). This shows that cyber warfare is
in fact “. . .one of the most serious threats of our time” (Schwab 2017) as admitted by
Klaus Schwab
13 who is generally very supportive of digitization but cites increased
vulnerability to cyber-attacks and loss of privacy as the two major disadvantages of
Smart Cities in his book The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Schwab 2017). Lowering
the threshold of war and blurring the distinction between war and peace, cyber war
may equally take place in the digital and in the physical world, hacking and attacking
all kinds of connected items –targeting military systems as well as civilian infrastructure including essential resources like food and water (Schwab 2017). Potential
adversaries may use cyber war “. . .to disrupt, confuse, or destroy the enemy’s
sensors, communications and decision-making capability” (Schwab 2017). The
victims of a cyber-attack may not even know who is attacking them or if they are
attacked at all (Schwab 2017). The attacker may be a political adversary, a competitor, or a terrorist, or an attack may be undistinguishable from a mere accident.
Terrorism using CBRNE materials (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear,
and explosives) poses a major risk for public health and safety, as well as the
economic and political stability on a global base (National Environmental Trainers
2018; Interpol 2018). CBRNE may cause mass fatalities in urban density centers.
Intelligence and Security experts predict that “. . .many CBRNE threats are developing and many terrorist cells are looking at different ways to create destruction
across major cities in Europe” (Intelligence-Sec 2018).
The extensive know-how of the British military facility Porton Down
14 in the
field of chemical and biological weapons (U.K. Government 2016; Gaytandzhieva
2018) may pose a serious threat to densely populated future cities on a worldwide
base. In addition to testing chemical and biological weapons on ca. 122,000 animals
as well as on human guinea pigs including 20,000 volunteers (Gaytandzhieva 2018;
U.K. Government 2016), Porton Down also used biological and chemical weapons
in field experiments including covert aerial release trials conducted on unsuspecting
British citizens from 1953 to 1976 as recently admitted by the British government
(Schwarz-Herion 2015c with further references; U.K. Government 2016) and chemical gas attacks on unwitting passengers in the London underground in 2013
(Gaytandzhieva 2018). Particularly Porton Down’s menacing experience with the
aerial release of bacteria (U.K. Government 2016) may be capable of causing mass
fatalities in megacities.
CBRNE weapons of mass destruction may also involve the use of weaponized
drones carrying explosives or sophisticated chemical and biological weapons (Byus
und Shaw 2017). Therefore, cities should be able to resort to efficient counter-drone
systems, for example, ApolloShield’s anti-drone system sending unauthorized drones
a “go home” command (AppolloShield 2018). Industrial control systems of
13 Founder and Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
14 One of the numerous Pentagon-financed military labs existing in 25 countries (Gaytandzhieva
2018).
234
O. Schwarz-Herion