Cybergeddon

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. 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.

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. 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.

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

Terminology and origins

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.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 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.