Cyber Conflict – Disruption and Exploitation in the Digital Age (original) (raw)

NON-STATE ACTORS IN CYBERSPACE OPERATIONS

The growing importance of cyberspace to modern society, and its increasing use as an arena for dispute, is becoming a national security concern for governments and armed forces globally. The special characteristics of cyberspace, such as its asymmetric nature, the lack of attribution, the low cost of entry, the legal ambiguity, and its role as an efficient medium for protest, crime, espionage and military aggression, makes it an attractive domain for nation-states as well as nonstate actors in cyber conflict. This paper studies the various non-state actors who coexist in cyberspace, examines their motives and incitements, and analyzes how and when their objectives coincide with those of nation-states. Literature suggests that many nations are currently pursuing cyberwarfare capabilities, oftentimes by leveraging criminal organizations and irregular forces. Employment of such non-state actors as hacktivists, patriot hackers, and cybermilitia in state-on-state cyberspace operations has also proved to be a usable model for conducting cyberattacks. The paper concludes that cyberspace is emerging as a new tool for state power that will likely reshape future warfare. However, due to the lack of concrete cyberwarfare experience, and the limited encounters of legitimate cyberattacks, it is hard to precisely assess future effects, risks and potentials.

The Use of Cyber Warfare and its Impact on International Security

Science For All Publications, 2023

The rise of technology has revolutionized warfare, giving birth to a new form of conflict known as cyber warfare. This article examines the use of cyber warfare and its profound implications for international security. Cyber warfare encompasses various activities, including cyber espionage, terrorism, and state-sponsored cyber attacks. These tactics pose significant challenges to governments, economies, critical infrastructures, and individuals. Additionally, attributing cyber attacks remains a complex issue, impacting international norms and regulations. Therefore, fostering international cooperation, strengthening defense mechanisms, and establishing comprehensive cybersecurity frameworks to mitigate the risks and ensure global security is crucial.

Review: 2017 Strategic Trends in the Global Cyber Conflict

The present paper reviews the main strategic trends in cyber policy and security for 2017, pointing out the emergence of a new "Cyber Escalation Cycle:" while states are investing significant resources to improve their offensive cyber capabilities, these capabilities are subsequently being stolen, publicized and used by hostile countries to launch devastating cyber-attacks. This has led governments to pursue legislation that controls incoming technology and changes the technological relations between countries. Given the development of enhanced capabilities and the effectiveness of the attacks, we believe that leakage followed by immediate use of the leaked offensive cyber weapons against rival countries will only increase, making this issue even more contentious.

Cyber War as a threat to International Security.

International Relations theory has endured two failures in the last half century. No International Relations theorist foresaw the end of the Cold War. Likewise with the rise of Cyber War. Whilst the Internet is acknowledged as having the CIA as its parent, no one predicted that it would become a theatre for conflict. Cyber War is here and its impact on our lives will only increase in time. It is only a matter of time before a completely cyber conflict is waged. Yet no theory on Cyber War exists…until now.

Typology of State Actors' Behavior in Cyber Space

Proceedings of the ... international conference on information warfare and security/˜The œproceedings of the ... international conference on information warfare and security, 2024

Cyberwar is no longer subject to "if" but "when." Despite growing interest in cyberspace and cyber war readiness and resilience among academics, researchers, policymakers, and the media, the area needs to be more robust with different terminology that strategically captures the activities of state actors in cyberspace. The paper aims to provide a strategic classification of the activities of state actors in cyberspace. A typology is developed to encapsulate the strategic complexity of the activities of state actors in this terrain. The typology can illuminate the current global proportion and payoff of each type.

Covert or not Covert: National Strategies During Cyber Conflict

T. Minárik et al. (eds), 11th International Conference on Cyber Conflict: Silent Battle, 2019, 2019

Anonymity is considered to be a key characteristic of cyber conflict. Indeed, existing accounts in the literature focus on the advantages of the non-disclosure of cyber attacks. Such focus inspires the expectation that countries would opt to maintain covertness. This hypothesis is rejected in an empirical investigation we conducted on victims’ strategies during cyber conflict: in numerous cases, victim states choose to publicly reveal the fact that they had been attacked. These counterintuitive findings are important empirically, but even more so theoretically. They motivate an investigation into the decision to forsake covertness. What does actually motivate states to move into the international arena and publicly expose a cyber attack? The goal of this paper is to understand why and under which geopolitical circumstances countries choose to give up the advantages of anonymity. Whether they wish to Name and Shame opponents for ignoring international norms or whether they try to avoid public humiliation, victims of cyber attacks occasionally reveal the fact that they had been attacked. There is tension between such motivations and the will to protect intelligence sources and the incentives to prevent escalation if an attack is revealed, even more so if the attacker is exposed. Indeed, we find that sunk costs, counterescalation risks and the need to signal resolve—while critical in motivating victims to keep cyber attacks secret—may not suffice under such specific circumstances. By focusing on the victim’s side, we draw inspiration from data on real-world cyber attacks in order to place cyber operations in the larger context of secrecy and covert actions in the international arena. In so doing, the aim is to advance the use of empirical data for understanding the dynamics of cyber conflict and the decision-making process of states operating in this increasingly complex domain.

State Cyberspace Operations: Proposing a Cyber Response Framework

RUSI Occasional Paper, 2020

Cyberspace is the battleground of the new century – one that is likely to witness increased and diversified forms of aggression with the recent rise of world tension, driven by disputes over trade, territory and the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, increased tensions mean an increased chance of miscalculated intent. States would all benefit from a shared understanding of normal state behaviour in cyberspace. That common understanding must include shared intentions about appropriate responses to cyber incidents, especially in relation to determining which cyber operations are likely to elicit aggressive responses and which are considered part of the cost of doing business in international relations. States are understandably reluctant to reveal their thinking on this issue because they do not wish to encourage cyber misbehaviour below that threshold. In this paper, the author suggests that a framework establishing categories of incidents and possible responses could be helpful in avoiding actions in cyberspace that would unintentionally push states to engage in armed conflict. Further, the tiered response framework proposed mitigates the downside of increased transparency.

From Cyber Terrorism to Cyber Peacekeeping: Are we there yet?

24th Pan-Hellenic Conference on Informatics, 2020

In Cyberspace nowadays, there is a burst of information that everyone has access. However, apart from the advantages the Internet offers, it also hides numerous dangers for both people and nations. Cyberspace has a dark side, including terrorism, bullying, and other types of violence. Cyberwarfare is a kind of virtual war that causes the same destruction that a physical war would also do. In this article, we discuss what Cyberterrorism is and how it can lead to Cyberwarfare.