Cyber warfare has evolved to become a key consideration when it comes to global security and international relations. This paper highlights how cyber warfare has evolved as a threat and explores its various forms. From offensive to defensive cyber operations, different actors are involved in cyber warfare, each operation having a different motive. Both state and non-state actors can initiate cyber warfare, resulting in far-reaching impacts on economies, societies, and national security. Being a relatively new area, it is challenging to apply existing international laws to cyber warfare. Ethics are also not adequately defined in cyber warfare. Moreover, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing are set to have an impact on cyber warfare moving into the future, with the potential to accelerate both offensive and defensive capabilities. This paper emphasizes the growing importance of establishing legal and ethical guidelines to guide cyber warfare, similar to those that currently guide traditional warfare. It emerges that cyber warfare is a key part of modern warfare, and its use will only increase. As its use continues to increase, the potential impacts of cyber warfare are also expanding since the world is increasingly relying on digital systems. This paper recommends that all exposed parties seek to understand cyber warfare’s tactics, motivations, and impacts and use that understanding to guide how to approach the matter.
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