Introduction
The use of information as a means to conduct warfare is a concept that has existed
for centuries. However, the rise of massive cyber networks and increasingly pow-
erful computers has led many military strategists to conclude that the cyber realm
should be considered a new domain of warfare, akin to the land, sea, air, and space
domains previously developed and utilized in warfare. Over the past two decades,
humans have become increasingly reliant on information networks, which in turn
have become a part of the very fabric of society, influencing virtually every person
on the planet. Even those who have never used a computer are affected by these
networks, both in positive and negative ways. Just as conflict has touched every
nation on earth and has had at least some effect on almost every life, so too has
human conflict spread into the machine realm. As such, the cyber domain is being
used in new and creative fashions to shape the conflicts of the physical world and,
at times, to carry out attacks with effects every bit as tangible as those using con-
ventional weaponry.
Because the cyber domain is entirely manmade, it is not governed by the same
properties as the physical world. In fact, there are no rules within the cyber domain
that cannot be changed, either by altering the hardware that creates the environ-
ment or changing the programming that controls it. Given this changing nature of
the cyber environment, developing a national cyber strategy to secure a country
from cyber attacks is a continual problem. The only sure way to become immune
to cyber attack is to sever all connections to the cyber domain—but such a drastic
decision would also essentially remove a nation from the modern world. Thus,
nations are forced to engage in the cyber domain, regardless of preferences, priori-
ties, or national capabilities.
Cyber assets are typically associated with communications, economic activities,
and maintaining vast amounts of information, and cyber attacks are thus most
commonly assumed to be new forms of espionage or crime. However, cyber net-
works are increasingly able to influence the physical world through the control of
infrastructure assets such as electrical grids, meaning that a cyber attack can poten-
tially inflict harm on not only computer hardware but also the people living in the
cyber-enhanced environment. Whereas earlier cyber attacks might be considered
a problem best addressed by intelligence agencies or law enforcement, these more
advanced cyber attacks might cross the threshold into warfare, particularly if they
directly or indirectly cause the loss of human life. Already, cyber attacks are being
used as an enhancement mechanism to enable or improve kinetic attacks in the
physical world, but soon, they may be utilized in place of conventional violence,
achieving the same ends without incurring the same risks to the attacker.
