Posted on Monday, September 1st, 2014 by Will Hagle
Netwars is a fact-based cross-platform experience exploring the impending threat of cyberwarfare.
Netwars is an interactive documentary project created by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The project is one of the most innovative forms of storytelling I’ve seen online, and the way it was published is fitting with the topics relating to technology and cyber warfare which it covers. The documentary is broken into five parts, each exploring elements of the role technology plays in warfare from a unique angle. There are interviews with figures like Ian J. West (the first interviewee of the doc), Cyber Security Chief for the NATO Communications and Information Agency in Belgium, as well as quotes and other facts, stories and speculative insights as to the future of cyber warfare.
The project also includes interactive elements such as quizzes and response boxes that keep viewers engaged throughout the storytelling experience. There’s a wealth of information about how to keep your data and other private material. There’s also an online graphic novel called The Butterfly Attack that takes a fictional rather than journalistic approach to the topic of cyber warfare, but still touches on some pressing issues. The entire site might be viewed as a bit speculative and fear-inducing about the future of cyber attacks, but it’s still an important, timely topic that’s explored in a unique way on Netwars.