The Principle of Maneuver in Cyber Operations (original) (raw)
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Military Operations in Cyberspace
Wilton Park Conference Reports, 2019
The human race has a propensity for conflict; on land, at sea, in the air and to some extent in outer space. Has cyberspace become the latest ‘battlespace’; a recognisable domain of military activity in which the organised armed forces of states should have specific roles and responsibilities? ‘Military operations in cyberspace’, a conference held at Wilton Park in early September 2018, set out to answer these questions from a variety of perspectives – operational, political, legal, moral, strategic and technical. Rather than follow a standard, thematic agenda, Military operations was structured sequentially. The conference began by asking why and how cyberspace might indeed be understood as a battlespace. Discussion then addressed in turn the more or less discrete phases of a notional conflict in cyberspace: the prevention of conflict (including deterrence); the means available for conflict in cyberspace (e.g. cyber weapons and dual- use platforms); the justification for military operations (e.g. threats, the balance between offensive and defensive capabilities); the conduct of operations (in two parts – the tactical/operational and the higher level strategic); the management of conflict (e.g. conflict mediation and de-escalation); legal and ethical constraints on military operations in cyberspace; and the conclusion of military operations (including the notions of victory, defeat and loss). The conference finished with a discussion of plausible futures for military operations in cyberspace. The conference highlighted above all that the national security communities and militaries of technologically advanced democracies are struggling to understand the character and Page 1 of 14 implications of all of these phases of potential conflict in cyberspace. The concluding section of this report is almost entirely devoted to raising a series of intricate and urgent questions that need further reflection. One certainty though is that militaries cannot effectively undertake this reflection on their own and that it must be conducted as part of a comprehensive, integrated civil-military approach to conflict in cyberspace.
Military Strategy in the Cyber Era: Continuities and Changes
Cyber seems to have created a frenzy of reactions around the world for the last five years. Digital attacks against the networks of states have been proven to be potent enough to provoke considerable harm to the security of information-dependent societies. Threats stemming not from traditional military actions (i.e. bombardment, troop invasion) but instead from malicious computer programs can kneel down the Critical Infrastructures and degrade backbone networks of states. The exposure of contemporary states to the cyberspace is considered to be Achilles heel vulnerable to any malevolent actor whose identity is difficult to be revealed. Military strategy in the cyber era is undergoing the strenuous process of being revised mainly because of the new profile that foes within the cyber dimension have. However, no matter how profound the changes are, the nature of the strategy will remain untouched. Its function for bridging military and political effects will continue to be necessary in the cyber era even though strategists should find new guiding paths among ends, means and ways.
Making sense of cyber warfare requires understanding the cyber domain. The inherent characteristics of the cyber domain make it challenging to determine the implications of cyber warfare on national security policy. Accurately defining the cyber environment is essential. Understanding how the environment functions and behaves as well as understanding the implications of concepts, like convergence (the integration of multiple technologies into a smaller number of platforms and the increasing blending of the virtual and physical worlds), help frame the big picture. The cyber environment shapes the "warfare" part of cyber warfare. Unfortunately, discussions about cyber warfare have been polarized by commentators, some who believe that a "cyber Pearl Harbor" is inevitable and others who believe just the opposite. Reality lies somewhere in the middle. It is important to remember that warfare is an extension of politics and that this axiom applies in the cyber domain. Operational planning must take into account a spectrum of threats. Understanding the implications of complexity and the intentions of actors in the system will be key to developing effective cyber warfare strategies.
Military Strategy in the Cyber Era A Holistic Approach
At the dawn of the 21st century, “cyber” seems to have become the common prefix of every human activity expressing the tendency of people towards networking. Cyber world emerges in parallel with the real one and its dynamic is so intense that many pundits consider it to be the fifth dimension in addition to land, sea, air and space. In the so called Information era, cyberspace consisting of various networks (financial, political, social) brings closer anyone willing to take part in them regardless of their nationality, mother tongue, religious belief or race. They seem to be supranational and many analysts describe networks as virtual societies that exist even though they cannot be defined using real life terms such as land or frontiers. Every human activity ranging from finance to social interactions finds a new way to be expressed within cyberspace and so does war. In Information era, the unregulated and chaotic structure of cyberspace alters decisively the nature of war. In the digital – virtual battlefield the “fog of war” seems to reach unprecedented levels, for any actor ranging from sovereign states to non state actors, criminal organisations, hacktivists or patriotic hackers can take advantage of the anonymity of cyberspace and cause harm. This paper intends to focus on the sociopolitical aspect of cyber in order to explain why cyber attacks are likely to meet the political objectives of war. Cyber is not considered to be just a technological breakthrough. Instead, it is viewed as the next evolutionary step in world politics which offers a new cognitive means of the real life world.
Cyber Wars: A Paradigm Shift from Means to Ends
Strategic Analysis, 2010
The last couple of decades have seen a colossal change in terms of the influence that computers have on the battle field, to an extent that defence pundits claim it to be a dawn of a new era in warfare. The use of computers and information in defence has manifested into various force multipliers such as Information Operations, C4I2SR Systems, Network Centric Warfare, to the extent that commentators are terming this information age as a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). These advances have not only revolutionized the way in which wars are fought, but have also initiated a new battle for the control of a new dimension in the current contemporary world: The Cyber Space. Over time cyber warfare has assumed the shape of an elephant assessed by a group of blind people, with every one drawing different meanings based upon their perceptions. Under these circumstances there was a gradual paradigm shift in military thinking and strategies, from the strategic aspect to the tactical aspect of cyber warfare laying more emphasis on cyber attacks and counter measures. This resulted in the formation of a notion that cyber warfare or information warfare is a potent force multiplier, which in a sense downgraded the strategic aspects of cyber war to a low grade tactical warfare used primarily for a force enhancement effect. The author believes this is wrong, cyber war is a new form of warfare and, rather than cyber war merely being an enhancement of traditional operations, traditional operations will be force multipliers of cyber war. This paper tries to shatter myths woven around cyber warfare so as to illuminate the strategic aspects of this relatively misinterpreted notion. This paper will elucidate the scenarios and mechanisms illuminating the process of using the strategies of cyber war, so as to achieve conventional objectives. The paper will also analyze the doctrine and strategies including first and second strike capabilities with regard to cyber war. This paper identifies a paradigm shift from the conventional belief of cyber warfare acting as a force multiplier for conventional warfare to the recognition, that conventional warfare will be acting as a force multiplier around cyber war and hence making cyber war as the primary means of achieving grand strategic objectives in the contemporary world order.
Cyber Warfare: National Security In Dealing With Changing Method of War
Kanun Jurnal Ilmu Hukum
The purpose of this research is to identify cyber warfare as a model of War, its position in the perspective of international law, and the steps taken by the state in minimizing losses arising from cyber warfare. This research is normative research using conceptual and statute approaches to answer the problems in this research. The analysis used is content analysis. The study results indicate a need for a common understanding of cyber warfare as a new model of war agreed upon by countries in practice. Normative cyber warfare in international law has to be applied universally. The periodic simulations of cyber defense and artificial intelligence are needed in minimizing the losses caused by cyber warfare. The recommendation is to formulate a definition of cyber warfare universally agreed upon and the state's agreement on the meaning of cyber warfare in international law perspectives.
Cyberspace: The Fifth Dimension of Warfare - Part I
Future Wars (futurewars.rspanwar.net), 2018
The dimensions of warfare have evolved over the centuries from Land and Sea to encompass Air and Outer Space in the 20th Century. With the heavy dependence on networks in the 21st Century, Cyberspace is emerging as an increasingly contested domain, with critical importance for the projection of military force. Here, in a two-piece write-up, we discuss the emergence of Cyberspace as an operational domain of warfare, deliberate on types and classifications of cyber-attacks/ cyberwar, briefly describe some real-world examples of cyberwar over the past decade, and finally dwell upon certain doctrinal aspects related to offensive cyberwar strategies as well as some legal implications of conducting cyberwar.
Cyberspace: The Fifth Dimension of Warfare - Part II
Future Wars (futurewars.rspanwar.net), 2018
The dimensions of warfare have evolved over the centuries from Land and Sea to encompass Air and Outer Space in the 20th Century. With the heavy dependence on networks in the 21st Century, Cyberspace is emerging as an increasingly contested domain, with critical importance for the projection of military force. In the first part of this two-piece write-up, the emergence of Cyberspace as an operational domain of warfare, as well as the types and classifications of cyber-attacks/ cyberwar were discussed. In this part, some real-world examples of cyberwar over the past decade will be described, and certain doctrinal aspects related to offensive cyberwar strategies as well as some legal implications of conducting cyberwar will be dwelt upon.