A new HP report details how the world is coming increasingly close to armed conflict sparked by cyberattacks. The study was compiled by University of Surrey senior lecturer in criminology, Mike McGuire. The study claims that there has been a 100% increase in significant state-backed attacks between 2017 and 2020. The largest number of these types of attacks featured the delivery of surveillance tools, at 50%. However, 14% of significant state-backed attacks sought to do damage to the targeted nation. The study reports that 40% had both a physical and digital component.

McGuire also consulted with several different experts within the field, 64% of whom were worried about the escalation in cyber tensions over the past year. The study also reports that factors such as weaponization and readiness of governments to define network attacks as acts of war are creating an unstable field between different nations engaging in such attacks. The research also revealed that the lines between nation-state and cybercrime attacks are increasingly blurring.

Read More: Armed Conflict Draws Closer as State-Backed Cyber-Attacks Intensify