Could cyberwar knock us back to the Stone Age?

ZD Net ^ | 8/3/15 | David Gewirtz

[Kartographer]

Consider this article a thought experiment. Rather than exploring individual vulnerabilities or examining named exploits, let's explore what aspects of modern technology define our Information Age, and what might happen if some of those relied-upon technologies were no longer available to us.

For the purpose of our exploration, we will assume that cyberwar doesn't lead to a nuclear or biological war, that the effects resulting from the conflict remain within the bounds of digital means of destruction rather than traditional NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) warfare.

[Kartographer]

With the almost daily breachs of various system including Government systems almost daily this is something to think about

[Kartographer]

Preppers’ PING!

[Sawdring]

There is too much metal lying around to be knocked back to the Stone Age.

[JimSEA]

Wouldn’t cyberwar allow or promote nuclear war without possible retaliation. Not that Obama would actually retaliate.

[gorush]

After reading “One Second After” I’d have to conclude that it would. I have been structuring my life accordingly.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Could cyberwar knock us back to the Stone Age?

No.

But it could knock us back to the 1800's.

Which would be enough of a pain.

[cuban leaf]

My tractor has a non-electronic ignition system.

[gorush]

You’re good to go, then. (unless someone tries to take it away)

[Politicalkiddo]

Will make the Islamists feel right at home.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

If it would take out the NSA too, I’d be OK with it.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

What are you going to run in on?

I am going back and forth about if I should get a donkey or not.

[MHGinTN]

Cyber smyber, the thing to watch for is an Islamic EMP attack. Tow or three well placed nukes at the right altitude could revert the country to mass chaos which would take a decade to recover from, and the survivors would be scarce and hardened.

[ETL]

Possibly

[tbw2]

I’d say the pre-computer era, the 1930s, not the stone age, if the breaches essentially shut down the digital age.
We’d go back to the 1800s after mass EMP attacks.
Stone age only comes up if you have EMP plus nuclear attacks across the world.

[GingisK]

We’d go back to the 1800s after mass EMP attacks.

Nah, that takes us back only to the 1940s. Vacuum tubes do OK, actually.

[laplata]

Good one.

Do you have a Mad Max picture?

[cripplecreek]

I’m actually a lot more concerned about the state of education today. If there’s not an app for that, the vast majority of today’s kids are screwed.

Us middle agers have a lot better grip on the basics of physics, the properties of flight, how a generator works etc.

[KarlInOhio]

Knock us back to the 1980s where high bandwidth communications was a station wagon full of 9 track tapes.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

That is true.

Like everything else, there is not much you can do about society in general but you can make sure your kids know how to do stuff.

[cripplecreek]

John Ratzenberger (Cliff Klavan) says that it wasn’t the career his kids chose but he made sure they knew how to change tires and oil in the car and how to erect a load bearing wall before they went off to college.