War 4.0? The battle fought on the web

A few hours before missile launches or tank movements, Microsoft had already detected the beginning of the Russian attack, aimed no less than at Ukraine's digital infrastructure. In just three hours, they managed to alert the authorities and update the server defenses, avoiding a situation similar to the one that occurred with the almost uncontrollable destruction of the NotPetya malware in 2017. "Looking to the future, it is clear that digital technology will play a vital role in both war and peace," said the president of Microsoft in a statement, reminding that they are neither a government nor a country.

But the truth is that there is already talk of "War 4.0", where social networks are the main channel through which conflict images are globally disseminated and individual

s are forced to take sides. Despite the fact that misinformation and social ostracism play a very relevant role, digital warfare is not a cosmetic issue: destroying the Ukrainian internet network would affect critical infrastructures such as electricity and water, communications, banking, and health services.

Such is the magnitude of the conflict that the hacker group Anonymous decided to intervene and, according to them, is working on the Ukrainian side. Thanks @iproup for helping us reflect as events continue to unfold.

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