Entire countries could soon be 'wiped out by a geeky young man in a back bedroom', warns top military historian

  • Cyber attacks have the potential to cripple nations, warns military historian
  • Professor Sir Michael Howard served as an adviser to Margaret Thatcher
  • Cyber strikes are more difficult to anticipate than nuclear warfare, he said
  • Those behind attacks can also remain anonymous and act independently 

By Stephanie Linning for MailOnline

Published: 13:49 EST, 5 September 2015 | Updated: 06:29 EST, 6 September 2015

Cyber-criminals now pose as big a risk to international security as nuclear weapons, Britain's most distinguished military historian has warned.

Sir Michael Howard, former Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, said the world will soon face a situation in which an 'entire country can be wiped out by a geeky young man in a back bedroom'.

But unlike nuclear warfare, it will not always possible to determine who is responsible for a digital attack, he said. Cyber strikes are also more difficult to anticipate and to defend against.

Warning: Sir Michael Howard, former Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, said the 'damage that can be done in cyber warfare now is in principle almost unlimited' and that perpetrators can be harder to catch

Warning: Sir Michael Howard, former Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, said the 'damage that can be done in cyber warfare now is in principle almost unlimited' and that perpetrators can be harder to catch

Speaking to The Times, Sir Michael, who served as a military and strategic adviser to Margaret Thatcher, said the 'damage that can be done in cyber warfare now is in principle almost unlimited'.

Hackers could be capable of targeting government electrical systems, bringing down a nation's air traffic control, or crippling a banking industry that relies heavily on technology.

And Sir Michael warned the attackers could be almost impossible to track down as they could be anonymous and acting independently.

He said: 'I find it hard to visualise what an international conflict would look like - you have non-state actors confronting us which has not happened before with this destructive capacity - how do you chase them down?' 

Security threat: Hackers could be capable of targeting government electrical systems, bringing down a nation's air traffic control, or crippling a banking industry that relies heavily on technology. Above, file image

Security threat: Hackers could be capable of targeting government electrical systems, bringing down a nation's air traffic control, or crippling a banking industry that relies heavily on technology. Above, file image

Earlier this year it emerged that cyber-criminals have attacked 90 per cent of major British companies – costing the economy tens of billions of pounds.

Figures reveal that the threat from hackers trying to steal confidential data is rising steeply.

Experts warned the typical cost to big firms of the most severe information security breaches had nearly tripled in a year from 1.1million to 3.1million. 

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