Definition of Cyber Warfare

Cyberwarfare is typically thought of as state-on-state action that involves assaulting a country’s networks with the aim of causing harm or disruption. Attacks, however, may involve parties other than sovereign states. Companies, terrorist organizations, ideological or political fanatics, “hacktivists,” and criminal gangs may be among them (Theohary & Rollins, 2015). A wide range of hazards follow cyber warfare. When cyberattacks are launched, the primary goal is to compromise and disrupt computers and computer networks (Singer & Friedman, 2014). This essay examines the many aspects of cyberwarfare and the government of the United States’ efforts to develop defensive measures against potential attacks.There are cyber-attacks where immediate damage or disruption is caused. Such attacks are initiated to target installations such as electrical grids, power plants, and nuclear reactors, for instance, the Stuxnet virus that effectively managed to delay Iran’s nuclear program (Lindsay, 2013). There is also cyber espionage which involves spying on networks on large scales, hacking of government networks with the purposes of obtaining classified information, and surveillance on various scales. For instance, the NSA’s mass spying program as revealed by Edward Snowden and the Office of Personnel Management data breach in the United States was attributed to the hackers with ties to the Chinese government. Cyber-attacks between countries may also target private institutions such as banks and websites with distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS attacks). These attacks function in a way that makes these internet resources unavailable to their intended users. These can be very devastating to economic activities (Schreier, 2015).

With the constantly changing technological topography, many nations are integrating cyber warfare and security as part of their military strategy. The United States, for instance, has the National Cyber Security Division which is a division of the Office of Cyber Security and Communications. Its mission is to collaborate with the private sector, military, government, and various stakeholders in the field of intelligence to ensure vulnerabilities to information technology assets in the government and private sector are mitigated (Cornish, Livingstone, Clemente, & Yorke, 2010). This branch of the military has a number of objectives including preventing cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure; reducing the vulnerability of a nations networks to cyber-attacks; and pre-emptive measures to minimize damage and expedite recovery in case of attacks.

Methods to Deny an Enemy the Use of Weapons and Associated Infrastructure

Rapid changes in the field of information technology have led to cyber security becoming a very important part of military defence strategy. The United States government has various strategies in place to pre-emptively prevent cyber-attacks on its infrastructure and networks. Some strategies used in the field of cyber security are outlined below.

First of all there are three forms of attacks that arise. These are electromagnetic, mechanical, and digital attacks. Depending on the targets, the form of attack is normally the most effective. Hence, for mechanical attacks, it involves ensuring the safety and integrity of hardware components are not compromised (Liles, Dietz, Rogers & Larson, 2012). It also requires to come up with measures to limit the possibility of security breaches to be able to come into contact with physical serves and network computers.

Electromagnetic attacks target components such as hard disks with the intention of sabotage and destruction of data. These can cause great damages and crippling of systems. Component design comes greatly into play to ensure that the network and information technology devices are secure against such attacks while also preventing electromagnetic attacks from succeeding (Lindsay, 2013). It also requires passing of laws by the government to ensure that various devices for use by both the government and public domain are up to sound security standards and protect data from breaches.

The final and most common form of attacks are the digital attacks. There is a myriad of ways in which targets can succumb to these attacks. Frequent updates in technology both software and hardware alongside cautionary use of internet and networks can help prevent and mitigate such risks (Liles, Dietz, Rogers, & Larson, 2012). There are virtually no rules of conduct in the cyberspace, therefore, there are few limits to what attackers can or can not do. This calls for a level of vigilance and sets of guidelines in the network to ensure that attackers have few avenues to carry out attacks (Catherine & John, 2015).

For the most part, however, defence against cyber-attacks requires discipline, vigilance, unity among all involve parties, and a plan of action laying out defence and retaliatory strategies (Liles et al., 2012).

The Command and Control Structure of Cyberwarfare in the United States

The command of cyberspace activities in regard to military strategies is vested on the United States Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). This is an armed force and a subordinate to the United States Strategic Command. It holds command of cyberspace operations and ensures organization of the existing information technology resources and the concurrency and efficiency of function of the U. S. military networks (Singer & Friedman, 2014). It was established in 2009 and is headquartered in Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. It incorporates the use of NSA networks and is headed by the Director of the National Security Agency.

The CYBERCOM is composed of several service components, military specialties, and cyber teams. Units from military services who provide joint services to it are Army Cyber Command with its various subdivisions; the Fleet Cyber Command; the Air Forces Cyber; and the Marine Corps Cyberspace Command.

References

Cornish, P., Livingstone, D., Clemente, D., & Yorke, C. (2010). On cyberwarfare. Chatham House.

Liles, S., Dietz, J. E., Rogers, M., & Larson, D. (2012). Applying traditional military principles to cyber warfare. 2012 4th International Conference on Cyber Conflict. NATO CCD COE Publications.

Lindsay, J. R. (2013). Stuxnet and the limits of cyber warfare. University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation; Security Studies.

Singer, P. W., & Friedman, A. (2014). Cybersecurity and cyberwar: What everyone needs to know. Oxford University Press.

Schreier, F. (2015). On cyberwarfare. DCAF Horizon 2015.

Theohary, C. A., & Rollins, J. W. (2015). Cyberwarfare and cyberterrorism: In brief. Congressional Research Service.