War in 1s and Os: Framing the Lexicon for the Digital age

摘要

This paper is written for military Commanders, planners, and practitioners. It attempts to place the discussion of cyberwarfare in terms more familiar to them. Presenting the concepts in these common terms provides for an accessible discussion on the usage of cyber capabilities in support of national/military ends, while drawing distinctions between conventional operations and their cyber counterparts. The intent in the work is to demystify cyber-means for military professionals while demonstrating its operational relevance and considerations associated with their employment. The focus has been placed not on discovery of a new approach or depicting the flaws in a given theory, but on drawing attention to the operational relevancy of cyber capabilities by placing them in terms of conventional operations and operational design. Ideally, by describing functional parallels between traditional military operations and cyber activities, baseline considerations may be drawn that support a more informed discussion of strategy in the information age. Moreover, discussing cyber capabilities in an operational context should assist in identifying opportunities for employment, leading to the operationalization of cyber capabilities, and making those capabilities applicable to more than Combatant Commanders. The paper relates cyber considerations in terms of Defend, Reinforce, Attack, Withdraw, Delay, and Employ Restricted Capabilities (DRAW-DE), making the topic more broadly relevant to military practitioners. While network defense operations carry their own level of specific considerations, an inability to discuss network considerations in terms of traditional military operations has created some difficulties in planning and execution. By framing network operations in terms of their effects vis-à-vis traditional military operations, and then identifying the underlying concepts that restrict their use, the intent is to place the field of study in accessible terms. By placing network operations in accessible terms, they should be more broadly embraced as operationally relevant to Commanders and planners alike, and their considerations will be more easily folded into traditional actions. The article is based on studies conducted at the Anthony G. Oettinger School at NIU, and founded on years of experience in matters appropriate to the field of study. The views expressed do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Intelligence University, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Intelligence Community, or the U.S. Government.