Let X=X

Iran's nuclear agency battles computer worm that can bring down power plants. Excerpts in italics:
Iranian media reports said Friday that the country's nuclear agency is trying to combat a complex computer worm that has affected industrial sites in Iran and is capable of taking over power plants.

The computer virus, which attacks a widely used industrial system, appears aimed mostly at Iran and its sophistication suggests a state may have been involved in creating it, Western cyber security companies said earlier in the day.

This is but the first of many super-cyberweapons. What might the future hold? Entire national infrastructures can all be attacked, all simultaneously. This utter and complete destruction can be mirrored in multiple countries. Battles will be waged along fiber optic tubes and via satellite. "Targeted Destruction" might be en vogue now, but what about the future? Will this different means of warfare lead to new and different tactics? And, lest we forget, each new variation will be more deadly and sophisticated than its predecessor. Global, long-duration chaos could happen almost instantly. And we as a planet may never return to the level of advancement achieved just prior to this technological annihilation, not in our lifetimes.

Welcome to the World of Tomorrow!