What the heck is a killware? According to NordVPN, it is a malware that causes intentional physical harm or death.

Killware could be any malware, ranging from malicious codes targeting personal IoT devices to ransomware campaigns wrecking hospital life support systems.

While the IT guys try to understand the impact of the arrival of malware specially designed for military purposes into enterprise networks we would like to note that yet another time we are talking about something new, which is everything but new.

The purpose-built means deployed into/onto devices and aimed at killing people is probably with us since the onset of the Cold War or maybe from even earlier ages.

One memorable example is the remote controlling mechanism of the brake systems of certain brands of popular luxury cars that was already in use in the 70s – according to Sir Ranulph Fiennes‘ book The Feather Men.

Another sources of such inroads to oblierate entire populations are the Mitrokhin Archive and the Suvorov (a.k.a. Rezun) Aquarium detailing such programs by the KGB and the GRU respectively.

What really is new is the ability of a single individual to commit heinous crimes without much preparation or risk of getting caught.

Brave New World this one is.