Cybergeddon

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
This article is about the internet security term. For the 2012 web series, see Cybergeddon (film).

Cybergeddon (from tech. cyber-, "computer", and Armageddon, from Hebrew Har Megiddo, "mountain of the final battle") is a popular term in computer security, the media and international relations for a hypothetical cataclysm caused by large-scale sabotage of computerised networks, systems and data flows.[1][2] The scenario typically combines cyberterrorism, cyberwarfare, cybercrime and hacktivism into cascades of attacks capable of disrupting the Internet, critical infrastructure and global financial and industrial systems.[1]

Commentators have used the term for worst-case futures in which attacks on targets such as banks, payment systems, power grids and industrial control systems trigger systemic economic collapse or prolonged social disruption.[3][4][5]The concept is closely related to expressions such as "cyber apocalypse", "cyber 9/11" and "cyber Pearl Harbor", which likewise denote large-scale, strategically significant cyber attacks.[6][7]

Although some security professionals and policy documents have presented cybergeddon as a serious strategic risk,[3] academic and policy debates also include more sceptical views that see such apocalyptic scenarios as exaggerated compared to the empirical record of cyber operations.[6][7][8]

Terminology and origins

[edit]

Cybergeddon is a combination of cyber-, associated with computers, digital networks and cyberspace, and Armageddon, a term from the Book of Revelation that in modern usage denotes an ultimate, catastrophic battle.[1][6]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Gupta, Vishakha Om; Gupta, Arun R. (2015). "A Survey Paper: Cybergeddon". International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology. 3 (12): 1–4. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  2. ^ Goodwin, Bill (2014-01-17). "Internet at risk of 'cybergeddon' says WEF". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  3. ^ a b Goodwin, Bill (17 January 2014). "Internet at risk of 'cybergeddon' says WEF". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  4. ^ Marks, Paul (30 June 2012). "Banking outage gives tiny glimpse of cybergeddon". New Scientist. 214 (2871): 5. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(12)61651-0.
  5. ^ Chirgwin, Richard (12 November 2012). "New report warns of SCADA CYBERGEDDON*". The Register. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Stevens, Tim (April 2013). "Apocalyptic Visions: Cyber War and the Politics of Time". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2256370. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b Shea, Jamie (Spring 2012). "We should not over-hype the cyber-threat" (PDF). Europe's World: 58–59. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Why Hasn't Russia Unleashed 'Cybergeddon' in Its War on Ukraine?". Russia Matters. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
Stub icon

This computer security article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about disaster management or a disaster is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.