Cyber War Versus Cyber Realities

"What Valeriano and Maness provide in this book is an empirically-grounded discussion of the reality of cyber conflict, based on an analysis of cyber incidents and disputes experienced by international states since 2001. They delineate patterns of cyber conflict to develop a larger theory of cyber war that gets at the processes leading to cyber conflict. They find that, in addition to being a little-used tactic, cyber incidents thus far have been of a rather low-level intensity and with few to no long-term effects. Interestingly, they also find that many cyber incidents are motivated by regional conflict. They argue that restraint is the norm in cyberspace and suggest there is evidence this norm can influence how the tactic is used in the future. In conclusion, the authors lay out a set of policy recommendations for proper defense against cyber threats that is built on restraint and regionalism"--

"Published in the United Kingdom in 2013 by C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd"--Title page verso.

This illuminating book examines and refines the commonplace "wisdom" about cyber conflict-its effects, character, and implications for national and individual security in the 21st century. "Cyber warfare" evokes different images to different people. This book deals with the technological aspects denoted by "cyber" and also with the information operations connected to social media's role in digital struggle. The author discusses numerous mythologies about cyber warfare, including its presumptively instantaneous speed, that it makes distance and location irrelevant, and that victims of cyber attacks deserve blame for not defending adequately against attacks. The author outlines why several widespread beliefs about cyber weapons need modification and suggests more nuanced and contextualized conclusions about how cyber domain hostility impacts conflict in the modern world. After distinguishing between the nature of warfare and the character of wars, chapters will probe the widespread assumptions about cyber weapons themselves. The second half of the book explores the role of social media and the consequences of the digital realm being a battlespace in 21st-century conflicts. The book also considers how trends in computing and cyber conflict impact security affairs as well as the practicality of people's relationships with institutions and trends, ranging from democracy to the Internet of Things.

Cyber weapons and cyber warfare have become one of the most dangerous innovations of recent years, and a significant threat to national security. Cyber weapons can imperil economic, political, and military systems by a single act, or by multifaceted orders of effect, with wide-ranging potential consequences. Unlike past forms of warfare circumscribed by centuries of just war tradition and Law of Armed Conflict prohibitions, cyber warfare occupies a particularly ambiguous status in the conventions of the laws of war. Furthermore, cyber attacks put immense pressure on conventional notions of sovereignty, and the moral and legal doctrines that were developed to regulate them. This book, written by an unrivalled set of experts, assists in proactively addressing the ethical and legal issues that surround cyber warfare by considering, first, whether the Laws of Armed Conflict apply to cyberspace just as they do to traditional warfare, and second, the ethical position of cyber warfare against the background of our generally recognized moral traditions in armed conflict. The book explores these moral and legal issues in three categories. First, it addresses foundational questions regarding cyber attacks. What are they and what does it mean to talk about a cyber war? The book presents alternative views concerning whether the laws of war should apply, or whether transnational criminal law or some other peacetime framework is more appropriate, or if there is a tipping point that enables the laws of war to be used. Secondly, it examines the key principles of jus in bello to determine how they might be applied to cyber-conflicts, in particular those of proportionality and necessity. It also investigates the distinction between civilian and combatant in this context, and studies the level of causation necessary to elicit a response, looking at the notion of a 'proximate cause'. Finally, it analyses the specific operational realities implicated by particular regulatory regimes. This book is unmissable reading for anyone interested in the impact of cyber warfare on international law and the laws of war.

This paper will try to answer this question, posed by the title. But, we want to start with the idea that cyber-warfare may be construed to be more than it is. The psychological effects of cyber-warfare may be greater than the real issue, particularly as its interpreted by the media. Another question that comes up is how do we begin to examine a question of law, where little information exists? Now that we’re in the 21st century, it’s long overdue to fully examine this issue. Although, more than a decade has passed since discussion of this issue began, there are still many questions. What if this thought, this idea, is being “psychologically built” into the minds of people; manipulation? What happens when it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy? I think it’s important to begin any discussion of this type with a “what do you mean by attitude”. In other words, for us to provide a positive communication environment it’s important that we begin by defining certain terms. Let’s begin with cyberspace. What is cyberspace? What is, in fact, the meaning of this space? And if cyberspace can really be understood as space, what its resultant role of architecture in this still largely unknown realm? Is all reality then necessarily becoming virtual reality? Who are the architects of cyberspace, and which designing principles should they follow? And if there are really architects involved, why are the contemporary examples of virtual reality environments nowadays then still characterized as banal? Moreover, what does it actually mean to design cyberspace? Which urban metaphors are implemented in the virtual realm, so that in some way familiar notions become apparent in this abstract and technological world? Is cyberspace a novel departure or an extension – perhaps the final extension – of the trajectory of abstraction and dematerialization that has characterized so much modern art, architecture and human experience?

Contemporary discussion surrounding the role of the internet in society is dominated by words like: internet freedom, surveillance, cybersecurity, Edward Snowden and, most prolifically, cyber war. Behind the rhetoric of cyber war is an on-going state-centered battle for control of information resources. Shawn Powers and Michael Jablonski conceptualize this real cyber war as the utilization of digital networks for geopolitical purposes, including covert attacks against another state's electronic systems, but also, and more importantly, the variety of ways the internet is used to further a state’s economic and military agendas. Moving beyond debates on the democratic value of new and emerging information technologies, The Real Cyber War focuses on political, economic, and geopolitical factors driving internet freedom policies, in particular the U.S. State Department's emerging doctrine in support of a universal freedom to connect. They argue that efforts to create a universal internet built upon Western legal, political, and social preferences is driven by economic and geopolitical motivations rather than the humanitarian and democratic ideals that typically accompany related policy discourse. In fact, the freedom-to-connect movement is intertwined with broader efforts to structure global society in ways that favor American and Western cultures, economies, and governments. Thought-provoking and far-seeing, The Real Cyber War reveals how internet policies and governance have emerged as critical sites of geopolitical contestation, with results certain to shape statecraft, diplomacy, and conflict in the twenty-first century.