Cyberspace: The Fifth Dimension of Warfare - Part II (original) (raw)

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 Warfare Domain

Cyberspace is by itself a dimension that has own unique nature with characteristics that shape and affect global security environment as well as national security. The objective of this paper is to explore the nature of cyberspace as a warfare domain and assess its implications to national security. The unique nature of cyberspace as a warfare domain has different forms of impact on effect to the conduct of warfare and national security. The increasing use of advanced information systems and proliferation indicates that such development leads to cyberspace achieving a more direct implication and decisive effect to national security.

Cyberspace Warfare Attacks Within Current Norms of Self-Defense

This Article is nothing but an exercise in boldness…It touches upon modern Information Warfare Operations, which are now taking place entirely in Cyberspace, with the following – twofold – purpose. First, to offer a brief as well as accurate inroad into their very individual characteristics and the actual threat they represent to international peace and security. Second, to emphasize in the most practical terms possible the need for the creation of a “jus novum”, specifically tailored to regulate this newly emerged and constantly growing threat.

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.

A Critical Study On Major Issues And Implications Of Cyber Warfare

Science Research Society, 2021

The digital age has given rise to a new type of threat: cyberwar. "Cyberwar" denotes the use or targeting of computers, the internet of things (IOTs), and network-based systems in the context of warfare. Since information technology and the internet have evolved to the point where they are major components of national power, state militaries have been developing cyber weapons for use in national security preparation. An alarming number of states are engaging in cyber espionage, reconnaissance, or cyber-attacks, or both. There is considerable debate over whether such campaigns can be called "wars." Due to a lack of detailed knowledge in cybersecurity, those who are already in the industry have a difficult time meeting the cyberwarfare challenge. Despite several cyberattacks, the world has failed to keep up with the evolving threats of modern warfare. This research paper aims to examine the legal context of cyber warfare, i.e., the legislation that applies to cyber warfare, as well as case studies of cyber warfare events from around the world. It also focuses on issues like the use of force and the challenge of electronic warfare governance. This paper concludes with observations and recommendations for the future of cyber warfare.

CYBERSPACE – A MANMADE DOMAIN FOR WARS

Internet can be considered as one of the greatest achievements of humanity of the last century, which connected the entire world. It created a new space for connections, information and communications, as well as cooperation. Thus, it created also a new platform for conflicts that involved not only individuals but also states. The invention of the twentieth century, the Internet, has become another sphere for international relations, and a new space for defensive and offensive policies for regulating and balancing those affairs. The space called cyberspace has become a platform for interactions not only between individuals , but also between states. The interactions on their side were not only developed in a positive manner, but were also transformed into attacks, which pose a real threat to the security of states. Thus, the following questions arise: Can cyberspace be considered a new sphere for war? Can conflicts and offensive and defensive operations in cyberspace be considered a real war? The aim of this article is to specify offensive and defensive actions occurring in cyberspace and to explain the differences and similarities between them and the classical approach to war present in other spheres: land, water, air, and space. Despite the overgrowth of offensive interactions in cyberspace and defensive strategies for enriching the cyber arsenal of states, military specialists have concerns over the reality of cyberwars in general. Parallels are drawn to show the similarities and differences between definitions and perceptions of war, and whether concepts from the classical approach can be transferred to describe wars in the cyber sphere. This research puts cyberwars in line with other wars, thus analyzing their peculiarities, whilst Cyberspace is seen as another sphere for war and international relations in addition to the existing spheres of land, water, air, and space * Doctoral Student, Nanjing University, School of International Studies.

A Theory of War in the Cyber Domain: An Historical Perspective

As technologies create new modes, or domains, of war, existing theories of war are, of necessity, reevaluated to adapt them to new capabilities of war fighting. The most obvious example of this was the development of theories of war after the introduction of heavier-than-air aircraft in the early 20th Century. Cyberspace, as a domain of war, is both new and pervasive. This paper addresses a theory of war in cyberspace from an historical perspective and describes how it has become necessary to change currently understood theories to make them applicable to the unique characteristics of cyberspace. It is about war both from and within the cyber domain. War from cyberspace is distinctly Western while war within cyberspace is distinctly not so.