By: Christopher Klein

The Ancient Warfare Tactics Behind Modern Cyber Attacks

Today’s cyber warriors use strategies once wielded by legendary generals such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Genghis Khan.

illustration of a wooden trojan horse emerging from a computer screen

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Published: May 29, 2025

Last Updated: May 29, 2025

Long before hackers targeted digital firewalls, ancient armies besieged stone ones. By employing siege warfare to capture cities and enemy strongholds that were too heavily fortified to assault directly, military commanders heeded the advice attributed to ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu in The Art of War: “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.”

Modern cyber warriors may deploy malware and deepfakes instead of battering rams and catapults, but they still use the same winning tactics—including psychological warfare, breaching defenses, blockades and internal sabotage—once wielded by some of history’s greatest military commanders.

Psychological Warfare

'All warfare is based on deception.' Sun Tzu

Psychological warfare employs intimidation, terror and deception to demoralize and manipulate an enemy. By distorting reality, psychological warfare undermines institutional trust and spreads confusion.

Ancient Warfare:

Few ancient warriors used terror and deception as effectively as Genghis Khan. The Mongol leader fooled enemies with battlefield feints and clever tricks such as instructing soldiers to light five campfires each to give the appearance of a much larger army. Living up to his bloodthirsty image, Genghis Khan ordered the slaughter of hundreds of thousands following the 1221 Siege of Merv, sparing only a few citizens to disseminate news of his brutality so that his next targets would surrender without fighting.

During the 1346 Siege of Caffa, the Mongols even catapulted the cadavers of Black Plague victims into the city to terrify the besieged population. “Infectious bodies were splattered throughout the city, and the psychological impact coupled with the sickness led to a quick surrender,” says Dr. Warren Doudle, senior lecturer on security and intelligence at Australia’s Edith Cowan University.

Cyber Warfare:

On modern digital battlefields, disinformation campaigns and social media deceptions turbo-charged by artificial intelligence blur lines between fact and fiction and erode trust in governments, the media and objective truth.

Deepfake videos that fabricate an alternate reality and attempt to trick observers into believing fictitious narratives are modern iterations of false flag operations advocated by Sun Tzu. For example, Doudle says a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling his countrymen to surrender that circulated online weeks after Russia’s 2022 invasion was an attempt to sow confusion and mistrust in all video content.

Breaching Defenses

'In war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.' –Sun Tzu

When brute force proved unsuccessful in breaking sieges, ancient armies sought to breach any weaknesses in enemy defenses. Similarly, hackers search for firewall vulnerabilities they can exploit to enter heavily guarded systems.

Ancient Empires: Alexander the Great Decimates Persian Forces

The future of Macedon is at stake. See more in this clip from Season 1, Episode 1, "Alexander the Great."

Ancient Warfare:

If battering rams, catapults and trebuchets failed to force entry into heavily fortified cities, the armies of antiquity found ways to go over—and under—defensive walls. During the Siege of Tyre in 332 B.C., the forces of Alexander the Great spent seven months building a half-mile-long causeway and massive siege towers to breach the 150-foot-high walls of the seemingly impregnable Phoenician island fortress. At the subsequent Siege of Gaza, his Macedonian forces tunneled under sections of walls, to weaken them and cause them to crumble or collapse.

The Persian forces of Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. by exploiting a defensive vulnerability. After diverting the Euphrates River with the construction of canals and trenches upstream, the Persians marched along the exposed riverbed and under Babylon’s walls to take it with little fighting.

Cyber Warfare:

In a world where computer firewalls have replaced city walls, hackers continue to attempt to breach defenses with large-scale barrages of digital firepower such as Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks that can overwhelm networks with floods of meaningless traffic. “The modern parallel with a direct assault is a brute-force attack in which attackers use automated tools to guess passwords or encryption keys by trying numerous combinations until they succeed,” Doudle says.

“When there isn’t an easy way in, attackers have the hard slog of breaching firewalls directly by patiently hacking at them to find weaknesses over time,” says Jason Healey, senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Hackers search for critical vulnerabilities that include outdated software and zero-day exploits, security flaws unknown to developers, such as the one that allowed the Stuxnet virus to infiltrate and damage Iran’s nuclear facilities. Healey notes one difference from ancient breaches. “Defenders often have no idea their walls are under attack unless they are very well monitored.”

Sabotage From Within

'The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.' —Sun Tzu

Throughout history, armies have recruited defectors to gather intelligence or strike the enemy from within. Attackers today continue to exploit misplaced trust to bypass defenses.

Ancient Warfare:

In Homer’s Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid, the Greeks ended a decade-long siege of Troy by faking a retreat and leaving behind a large wooden horse as a gesture of surrender. After the Trojans brought the “gift” inside the city’s gates, Greek warriors emerged and sacked the city from within.

colorful painting of a large horse on wheels being pulled down a road

'The Procession of the Trojan Horse into Troy' by painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, c. 1760. From the National Gallery, London.

Print Collector/Getty Images

colorful painting of a large horse on wheels being pulled down a road

'The Procession of the Trojan Horse into Troy' by painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, c. 1760. From the National Gallery, London.

Print Collector/Getty Images

While the Trojan Horse is widely considered a myth, Genghis Khan pulled off a similar ruse in 1207 during his siege of Volohai, a walled city in present-day China. The Mongol conqueror pledged to surrender for a tribute of 1,000 cats and 10,000 swallows. Once delivered, the Mongols tied burning tufts of wool to the animals and released them. Instinctively returning to their homes and nests inside the city walls, the animals set Volohai ablaze. As defenders fought the flames, the Mongols seized the city.

Cyber Warfare:

To breach firewalls, hackers hide malware in seemingly trustworthy computer programs or email attachments. “It’s not for nothing that a large category of malicious software are called Trojan Horses! The idea is the same, to have the defenders themselves carry into their palisades the very payload that will lead to their undoing,” Healey says.

Hackers also engage in phishing, using fake emails or websites that mimic trusted sources—such as banks or employers—to trick victims into revealing sensitive information such as login credentials and passwords that attackers can use to breach digital defenses. “It’s not so different from wearing the uniform of one’s adversary to gain entry past the city walls,” Healey says.

Blockades

'To capture the enemy’s entire army is better than to destroy it.' —Sun Tzu

For thousands of years, militaries have instituted blockades to isolate targets and cut off vital resources, aiming to force capitulation without direct assaults on well-defended positions.

Ancient Warfare:

Ancient armies used blockades to deprive besieged populations of the food, water, weaponry and resources necessary for survival. Roman general Julius Caesar forced the Gallic War’s decisive confrontation during the Siege of Alesia in 52 B.C. by constructing an enormous double ring of fortifications that trapped a hilltop fortress and kept enemy reinforcements at bay. When the Gauls made their last stand the following year at the Siege of Uxellodunum, Caesar instituted a blockade that forced an enemy surrender once Roman tunnelers diverted the spring that supplied the Gallic fortress with water.

Cyber Warfare:

Hackers pressure targets to succumb with blockade-style tactics that deprive victims of modern-day essentials such as data, financial accounts and communications systems. In recent ransomware attacks, including the 2014 targeting of Sony Pictures, hackers have rendered data and records inaccessible through encryption and threatened to publicly release sensitive information unless their demands were met.

Doudle says cyber blockades operate on a much more compressed timeframe than in ancient times. “The difference between historical blockades and the modern day is that you could wait out a siege for months if you had food and water,” he says, “but a day without phone coverage or access to power is now a big deal and people start losing their patience.”

Related Articles

Augustus Caesar

Augustus told Romans he was the only one who could save Rome. And they believed him.

Julius Caesar invading Britain

At its peak, Rome stretched over much of Europe and the Middle East.

The naumachia (naval battle between Romans), as painted by artist Ulpiano Checa.

Roman citizens could enter the arena for free to watch gladiator fights, mock naval battles, wild animal hunts—and plenty of death.

A stretch of Hadrian's Wall at Walton's Crags in Northumberland, England, coloured by the setting sun

Built on the orders of the Roman Emperor Hadrian and located in Great Britain, Hadrian’s Wall was a defensive fortification that marked the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire for three centuries. The wall measured 73 miles in length and stretched from coast to coast across present-day northern England, between Wallsend in the east to […]

About the author

Christopher Klein

Christopher Klein is the author of four books, including When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom and Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and National Geographic Traveler. Follow Chris at @historyauthor.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

Citation Information

Article title
The Ancient Warfare Tactics Behind Modern Cyber Attacks
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
June 04, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
May 29, 2025
Original Published Date
May 29, 2025

History Revealed

Sign up for "Inside History"

Get fascinating history stories twice a week that connect the past with today’s world, plus an in-depth exploration every Friday.

By submitting your information, you agree to receive emails from HISTORY and A+E Global Media. You can opt out at any time. You must be 16 years or older and a resident of the United States.

King Tut's gold mask