[Best of 2019] NATO CCDCOE strategist: Die Hard 4 is the perfect way to describe real cyberwarfare

What makes it realistic is the targets the bad guy goes after to achieve his goal, Alatalu explains.

Cyberwarfare is something weve all seen in movies likeDie Hard but most of us dont fully grasp it.

Hows it different to conventional warfare?

How do you train and prepare for cyberattacks?

Is this really something we need to worry about and what does the future hold?

Thats what I hoped to learn more about at the CCDCOE.

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This is because the defender is basically always in a better position than the attacker, Alatalu explains.

But the one who knows the vulnerabilities best always has a critical advantage.

Thats why nations need to be alert and prepared for attacks.

It can be difficult, as cyberwarfare can affect almost every aspect of civilian life and technology.

Well, it certainly isnt the Ghostbusters.

Instead, Alatalu sums it up more succinctly:

Lots of pizza and Coca-Cola.

Locked Shields also makes sure to show just how powerful attacking positions can be when exploiting vulnerabilities.

The defending teams, however, need to react in real-time.

This is incredibly important as the scale of cyberwarfare makes coordination one of the key defensive qualities.

But do we really need to be so paranoid?

Journalists couldnt publish articles, ATMs stopped working, and government agencies couldnt communicate.

All of a sudden you had a nation state being cyberattacked by another nation state, says Alatalu.

The attitude was that cyber was something the techies could handle, just kickstart your box kind of thing.

But this all changed with the 2007 cyberattack on Estonia.

Cyberwarfare eventually comes down to the human brain.

Fortunately, it still requires a human to operate all the code and launch attacks, says Alatalu.

Id prefer not to think about this possibility, Alatalu answers earnestly.

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Story byMar Masson Maack

Mar tries to juggle his editorial duties with writing the occasional weird article.

He also loves talking about himself in the third person.