Developed States’ Vulnerability to Economic Disruption Online

Much of the literature on cyberspace and national security has backed away from the idea that cyberwar presents an imminent threat in world politics. However, there remains great concern about the potential for broad-scoped economic disruption prosecuted through digital means. How vulnerable are developed states to cyber economic warfare? Could either a concentrated cyber economic warfare initiative or a scalable disruption effect prove crippling on a large scale? And, most importantly, what are the implications for state policy and international interactions? This article contends that large, advanced industrial states are only superficially more vulnerable to disruption than are other types of systems.