Refining United States Policy on Offensive Cyber Operations

Abstract

This paper examines United States and international policy related to offensive cyber warfare, specifically cyber exploitation and cyber attack. Current domestic and international policies lack mechanisms to classify offensive cyber operations into any discernable categories other than hostile acts. Recent cyber-attacks demonstrate how this policy void leads to stark differences in the ways nations perceive the role of the Internet and acceptable conduct in the cyber domain. Moreover, opaque national cyber policies increase the risk states will misinterpret each others intentions and actions, leading to inadvertent conflict escalation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2014
Accession Number
AD1012757

Entities

People

  • Max C. Johnson

Organizations

  • Air Command and Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cyber Threats
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Cyberattacks
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Foreign Relations
  • Freedom Of Speech
  • Governments
  • Information Warfare
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Terrorism
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Cybersecurity.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.

Technology Areas

  • Cyber
  • Cyber - Legality in Cyberspace