Cyberterrorism: Myth or reality?

Following recent accusations of government-sanctioned digitial espionage and alleged hacking attacks from China and Russia, there seems to be evidence that countries are capable of using electronic means to disrupt the computer systems of rival nations.

However, while it appears that government-backed organisations may be using hacking tactics to disrupt the systems of enemy states, there is still disagreement among security experts as to whether cyberterrorism is a real threat.

An act of terrorism is often defined as an incident that leads to loss of life or at least harm to life — and security experts claim that thus far an attack against a computer system hasn't achieved this. This may be due to the simple fact that a homemade bomb is always going to be more effective than an electronic attack, according to some security watchers. But others claim it's only a matter of time before a terrorist group manages to bring down a power station or air-traffic control system.