Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar

Abstract

The establishment of the 24th Air Force and U.S. Cyber Command marks the ascent of cyberspace as a military domain. As such, it joins the historic domains of land, sea, air, and space. All this might lead to a belief that the historic constructs of war-force, offense, defense, deterrence-can be applied to cyberspace with little modification. Not so. Instead, cyberspace must be understood in its own terms, and policy decisions being made for these and other new commands must reflect such understanding. Attempts to transfer policy constructs from other forms of warfare will not only fail but also hinder policy and planning. What follows focuses on the policy dimensions of cyberwar: what it means, what it entails, and whether threats can deter it or defense can mitigate its effects. The Air Force must consider these issues as it creates new capabilities.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA508151

Entities

People

  • Martin C. Libicki

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Combat Areas
  • Computer Crime
  • Computer Network Security
  • Computers
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Cyberattacks
  • Cybersecurity
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Electronic Mail
  • Information Systems
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Network Protocols
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Cybersecurity.
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • Cyber
  • Cyber - Legality in Cyberspace
  • Space