*Illustration by Kim Ryu. Design by Louise Bova.
As Machines Wage War, Human Nature Endures
Fear, Honor, and Self-Interest Are Still the Wellsprings of Conflict
The Cyber Age Demands a New Understanding of War—but We’d Better Hurry
Is It Too Late to Resist the Techno-Gods That Steal Data and Topple Skyscrapers?
It seems highly reckless to prod into flight Hegel’s Owl of Minerva—the goddess of wisdom and war—for an assessment of war in a cyber age that is barely 30 years old.
You will not find it in the Oxford English Dictionary, but “cyberwar” made its first inauspicious appearance in 1987 when an anonymous editor from Omni—Bob …
Why It's So Hard to Stop a Cyberattack—and Even Harder to Fight Back
Evasive Culprits and Unclear Intentions Risk Escalation and Retaliation
Imagine that the United States is hit by a cyberattack that takes down much of the U.S. financial infrastructure for several days. Internet sites of major banks are malfunctioning. ATMs are not working. Banks’ internal accounting systems are going haywire. Millions of people are affected.
The first question that policymakers might debate is whether such an attack deserves a military response. But several problems immediately arise. First, would the U.S. government—and specifically the National Security Agency—know for certain who had conducted the attack? …
Why Didn't the U.S. React More Forcefully to the DNC Hacking?
Because We Haven't Yet Defined the Rules of Engagement in the Cyber Age
Last year, Russian intelligence mounted an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the U.S. election. Russian hackers broke into …
What Happens When Personal Information Gets Weaponized
The Government Needs Data to Protect Infrastructure, Without Imperiling Privacy
When you’re talking about information that can be used, or useful, in conducting cyberwarfare, that type of data is different from the conventional identification data, which when released is an invasion …
In San Diego, Building a Cybersecurity State Is Good Business
How Cities Can Incubate the Next Generation of Digital Warriors
When I joined the Navy in 1970, the projection of Naval sea power was all about strategies to deploy Marines, ships, submarines, and aircraft above, below, and on the sea. Today, there’s a new complication …
To Understand the Future of Cyber Power, Look to the Past of Air Power
When Technological Fantasy Becomes Reality, Every Civilian Is a Target
Approximately 75 years ago, a new technology was married to warfare on a mass scale, and its impact spilled across continents, shaping the fighting of wars and international politics while raising a new set of terrifying fears about the future of the human race. …
