Already back in the early 1990s John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt of the RAND Corporation warned that “Cyberwar is Coming.” Now, almost two decades of the Internet later, it seems to be here. National governments are developing both defense and attack strategies for cyberspace and terrorist groupings are exploring new ways to do damage online. Although it takes place in an intangible space of code and bits, cyberwar is reality and the new digital frontiers of combat have immense significance for contemporary society. Everything from the mobile communication gadgets in our pockets to larger systems like the stock market are vulnerable to attacks and some reports estimate the costs of cyber crime as now on par with the illegal drug trade. The documentary Web Warriors maps the complexities and conflicts involved in the expanded battlefield of global cyberwar and poses intensified questions of digital security and power. It makes clear that the threat is real and the task difficult. Hence, when the Bipartisan Policy Center recently staged a televised simulated cyberattack on the US, the security officials involved in the game failed to defend the country.

Image: Web Warriors Inc.