Strategic Cyber Intelligence: An Examination of Practices across Industry, Government, and Military

Abstract

Over the past decade, despite advances in cyber defense technology, there has been a growth in the sophistication and persistence of cyber attacks and online nefarious activity. Criminals, insiders, and terror groups have had substantial success in their efforts using cyber means. Nations have witnessed the rapid emergence of cyber use as a part of or related to international conflict. The development of advanced, pervasive attacks against the critical infrastructure is an added reminder that cyber attacks hold the potential to destabilize nations, and many states now consider cyberspace a military operational domain. Currently, exhaustive resources are spent on strategies to defend cyberspace, though attacks are often discovered after a network has been compromised.