Strongpoint Defense: From the Cold War to Cyberspace
Abstract
I think the rapid rise of cyber from not being a part of the National Security Strategy to a determinant of U.S. prosperity and security means that policymakers have little or no experience developing cybersecurity strategies. To develop an effective foundation for the creation of cybersecurity strategy, cyber policymakers must learn from Cold War deterrence theory and application. The Cold War dealt with a new type of warfare, rapidly evolving technology, and an environment dominated by the offense which mirrors the current challenges in cyberspace. To build a cyber deterrence strategy, policymakers can look to Cold War deterrence theory to identify principles applicable to defending in cyberspace. The principles of cyber deterrence derived from Cold War analysis are: 1) Cyber deterrence must focus on strongpoints because a perimeter defense will be costly for the defender, and not effective against potential initiators; 2) Critical infrastructure in cyberspace should be encrypted, decentralized, and concealed to increase the cost for the attacker, buy time for the defender, and increase the chance of attribution of the attacker; 3) Researching emerging and future capabilities will create innovation opportunities for long-term cyber defense.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 15, 2018
- Accession Number
- AD1085623
Entities
People
- James J. Torrence
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College