Computer Malware the New 'Weapon of Mass Destruction'

Forget nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, the new weapon of mass destruction is computer malware and botnets, according to authors of a new report from the conservative Hoover Institution, who claim credit for coining the term "electronic Weapons of Mass Destruction" or eWMD.

Since, as the New York Times told us last week, malware is seriously on the rise and "spreading faster than ever," this would make the proliferation of eWMD more horrific than any other WMD to date.

Which would seem to imply that eWMD stockpilers, such as the New Zealand "bot boy" (aka Owen Thor Walker), are the cyber equivalent of Saddam Hussein.

"While one hopes ewmds will never be able to cause the loss of life that other weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, biological) can cause," the Hoover Institution authors write, "they should still be recognized as having the potential to destroy livelihoods or even entire economies. . . ."

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