Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cyberspace and Cyber Warfare

  • Chapter
Deterring Cyber Warfare: Bolstering Strategic Stability in Cyberspace

Abstract

This chapter introduces the core concepts of cyberspace and cyber warfare in detail and serves as a primer for later discussions of the application of deterrence theory to cyberspace and potential mitigating solutions. It defines cyberspace, cyberspace operations, Computer Network Exploitation (CNE), and Computer Network Attack (CNA). It also introduces a variety of characteristics that are unique or particularly pronounced when it comes to cyber weapons, as well as discussing some recent attacks.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Notes

  1. Gary Brown and Keira Poellet, ‘The Customary International Law of Cyberspace’, Strategic Studies Quarterly (Fall 2012), 129–130.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Jason Healey, A Fierce Domain: Conflict in Cyberspace, 1986 to 2012 (The Atlantic Council and Cyber Conflict Studies Association, 2013), 18.

    Google Scholar 

  3. James Lewis, ‘Significant Cyber Events since 2006’, Center for Strategic and International Studies (11 July 2013), http://csis.org/publication/cyber-events-2006.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Adam P. Liff, ‘Cyberwar: A New “Absolute Weapon”? The Proliferation of Cyberwarfare Capabilities and Interstate War’, Journal of Strategie Studies 35/3 (June 2012), 401–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. United States Department of Defense, DoD Information Operations Roadmap (30 October 2003).

    Google Scholar 

  6. For elaborations, see Gregory Koblentz and Brian Mazanec, ‘Viral Warfare: The Security Implications of Cyber and Biological Weapons’, Comparative Strategy 32/5 (November 2013), 418–434; and

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Thomas Rid, ‘Cyber War Will Not Take Place’, Journal of Strategic Studies 35/1 (February 2011), 5–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. See Martin C. Libicki, Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar (Washington, DC: Rand, 2009);

    Google Scholar 

  9. David Elliott, ‘Deterring Strategic Cyberattack’, IEEE Security and Privacy (September/October 2011);

    Google Scholar 

  10. James C. Mulvenon and Gregory J. Rattray, eds., Addressing Cyber Instability (Washington, DC: Cyber Conflict Studies Association, 2012);

    Google Scholar 

  11. Peter D. Feaver, ‘Blowback: Information Warfare and the Dynamics of Coercion’, Security Studies 7/4 (Summer 1998), 88–120; and

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Gregory J. Rattray, Strategic Warfare in Cyberspace (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Pamela Woolley, ‘Defining Cyberspace as a United States Air Force Mission’, Air Force Institute of Technology (June 2006), 2–3.

    Google Scholar 

  14. United States Department of Defense, Joint Publication 1-02: Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (May 2011), 93.

    Google Scholar 

  15. United States Department of Defense, ‘The Definition of Cyberspace’, Deputy Secretary of Defense Memorandum (12 May 2008).

    Google Scholar 

  16. United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace (2003), http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/cyberspace_strategy.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  17. International Telecommunication Union, 2010 U.S. Internet Usage and Broadband Report (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  18. United States, International Strategy for Cyberspace: Prosperity, Security, and Openness in a Networked World (Washington, DC, May 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  19. International Telecommunications Union, The World in 2011 — ICT Facts and Figures (December 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Spencer Ackerman, ‘NATO Doesn’t Yet Know How to Protect Its Networks’, Wired.com (1 February 2012).

    Google Scholar 

  21. United States Department of Homeland Security, U.S. National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace (2003), http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/cyberspace_strategy.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Tom Gjelten, ‘Cyber Insecurity: U.S. Struggles to Confront Threat’, NPR.org (6 April 2012), http://www.npr.org/templates/story/storyphp?storyId=125578576.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Brigid Grauman, ‘Cyber-security: The Vexed Question of Global Rules’, Security Defence Agenda and McAfee (February 2012), 6.

    Google Scholar 

  24. For a consideration of these issues, see Bradley A. Thayer, ‘The Political Effects of Information Warfare: Why New Military Capabilities Cause Old Political Dangers’, Security Studies 10/1 (Autumn 2000), 43–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Jeremy Bender, ‘Israel: Cyber Is a Bigger Revolution in Warfare than Gunpowder’, Business Insider (4 February 2014), http://www.businessinsider.com/the-internet-is-the-next-battlefield-2014-2.

    Google Scholar 

  26. James Lewis and Katrina Timlin, ‘Cybersecurity and Cyberwarfare: Preliminary Assessment of National Doctrine and Organization’, Center for Strategic and International Studies (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  27. United States Department of Defense, DoD Information Operations Roadmap (30 October 2003), http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB177/info_ops_roadmap.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  28. United States Department of Defense, 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (2014), http://www.defense.gov/pubs/2014_Quadrennial_Defense_Review.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  29. United States Department of Defense, Joint Publication 3–13.1: Electronic Warfare (January 2007), www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp3_13.1.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Michael Horowitz, The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and Consequences for International Politics (Princeton: Princeton UP, 2012).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Gregory Koblentz and Brian Mazanec, ‘Viral Warfare: The Security Implications of Cyber and Biological Weapons’, Comparative Strategy 32/5 (November 2013), 418–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Francois Paget, ‘How Many Bot-Infected Machines on the Internet?’, McAffe Labs (29 January 2007), http://blogs.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/how-many-bot-infected-machines-are-on-the-internet.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Gus W. Weiss, ‘The Farewell Dossier: Duping the Soviets’, The Central Intelligence Agency (27 June 2008), https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/96unclass/farewell.htm.

    Google Scholar 

  34. For disputes over the veracity of the reports regarding the attack, see Jeffrey Carr, ‘The Myth of the CIA and the Trans-Siberian Pipeline Explosion’ (7 June 2012), http://jeffreycarr.blogspot.com/2012/06/myth-of-cia-and-trans-siberian-pipeline.html; for information on the alleged effects of the attack, see Brown and Poellet, ‘The Customary International Law of Cyberspace’.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Steve Melito, ‘Cyber War and the Siberian Pipeline Explosion’, CBRN Resource Network (2 November 2013), http://news.cbrnresourcenetwork.com/newsDetail.cfm?id=109.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Larry Greenemeier, ‘Estonian “Cyber Riot” Was Planned, but Mastermind Still a Mystery’, Information Week (3 August 2007), http://www.informationweek.com/estonian-cyber-riot-was-planned-but-mast/201202784.

    Google Scholar 

  37. James Lewis, ‘The Korean Cyber Attacks and Their Implications for Cyber Conflict’, Center for Strategic and International Studies (October 2009).

    Google Scholar 

  38. John Markoff, ‘Before the Gunfire, Cyberattacks’, The New York Times (14 August 2008), http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/technology/13cyber.html?_r=0.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Gregg Keizer, ‘Georgian Cyberattacks Suggest Russian Involvement’, Computer World (17 October 2008), http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9117439/Georgian_cyberattacks_suggest_Russian_involvement_say_researchers.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Kim Zetter, ‘How Digital Detectives Deciphered Stuxnet, the Most Menacing Malware in History’, Wired.com (11 July 2011), http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/07/how-digital-detectives-deciphered-stuxnet/.

    Google Scholar 

  41. David Albright, Paul Brannan, and Christina Walrond, ‘Stuxnet Malware and Natanz’, Institute for Science and International Security (15 February 2011).

    Google Scholar 

  42. David Sanger, ‘Obama Ordered Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks against Iran’, New York Times (1 June 2012), http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/world/middleeast/obama-ordered-wave-of-cyberattacks-against-iran.html?pagewanted=all.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Ralph Langner, ‘Stuxnet’s Secret Twin: The Real Program to Sabotage Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Was Far More Sophisticated than Anyone Realized’, Foreign Policy (21 November 2013), http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/19/stuxnets_secret_twin_iran_nukes_cyber_attack?page=0,1&wp_login_redirect=0#sthash.8fThCVsO.0Bk6pcLA.dpuf.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Graham Cluley, ‘Stuxnet “Badly Infected” Russian Nuclear Plant, Claims Kaspersky’ (10 November 2013), http://grahamcluley.com/2013/11/stuxnet-badly-infected-russian-nuclear-plant-claims-kaspersky/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=stuxnet-badly-infected-russian-nuclear-plant-claims-kaspersky.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Nicole Perlroth, ‘In Cyberattack on Saudi Firm, U.S. Sees Iran Firing Back’, The New York Times (23 October 2012), http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/business/global/cyberattack-on-saudi-oil-firm-disquiets-us.html.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Christopher Bronk and Eneken Tikk-Ringas, ‘The Cyber Attack on Saudi Aramco’, Survival: Global Politics and Strategy 55 (April–May 2013), 81–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Wael Mahdi, ‘Saudi Arabia Says Aramco Cyberattack Came from Foreign States’, Bloomberg News (9 December 2012), http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-09/saudi-arabia-says-aramco-cyberattack-came-from-foreign-states.html.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Mathew J. Schwartz, ‘Bank Attackers Restart Operation Ababil DDoS Disruptions’, Information Week Security (6 March 2013), http://www.informationweek.com/security/attacks/bank-attackers-restart-operation-ababil/240150175.

    Google Scholar 

  49. Ellen Nakashima, ‘Iran Blamed for Cyberattacks on U.S. Banks and Companies’, The Washington Post (21 September 2012), http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-09-21/world/35497878_1_web-sites-quds-force-cyberattacks.

    Google Scholar 

  50. David E. Sanger and Steven Erlanger, ‘Suspicion Falls on Russia as “Snake” Cyberattacks Target Ukraine’s Government’, The New York Times (8 March 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  51. Mark Clayton, ‘Massive Cyber Attacks Slam Official Sites in Russia, Ukraine’, Christian Science Monitor (18 March 2014), http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Cyber-Conflict-Monitor/2014/0318/Massive-cyberattacks-slam-official-sites-in-Russia-Ukraine.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. George Mason University, USA

    Brian M. Mazanec

  2. Faculty of Political Science, University of Iceland, Iceland

    Bradley A. Thayer (Professor)

Authors
  1. Brian M. Mazanec
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bradley A. Thayer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Copyright information

© 2015 Brian M. Mazanec and Bradley A. Thayer

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Mazanec, B.M., Thayer, B.A. (2015). Cyberspace and Cyber Warfare. In: Deterring Cyber Warfare: Bolstering Strategic Stability in Cyberspace. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137476180_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation