Co-editors Timothy Sample and Michael Swetnam, along with a dozen thought leaders in the realm of cyber security, have assembled “#CyberDoc: No Borders - No Boundaries” as a preliminary framework for the development of a national doctrine for the cyber era.
Cyber technologies are an increasingly essential part of daily life for people around the world, and have fundamentally altered our lives in countless ways. The Internet is now as essential as any other “utility,” and is so seamlessly woven into the fabric of life that we rarely even think about it. At the same time, the vulnerabilities inherent in our reliance on the Internet are rarely discussed publicly in terms of our national security. Those responsible for protecting the capabilities upon which we all rely, as well as the security of the United States, have struggled to articulate and agree upon a doctrine to address these complex issues.
Several of the authors whose essays are included herein begin from the standpoint of nuclear doctrine, assessing whether concepts like containment, mutually assured destruction, and first strike are relevant in the cyber era. Other authors address our role as a nation in a world that is dominated by information and governed by its control. Indeed, we may already be “at war” in a sense that may not neatly fit into the established norms and definitions of war, and may not be bounded by existing treaties and agreements.
The goal of this volume is to raise and debate the issues that a doctrine should consider, and to begin identifying a broad framework from which a doctrine might be developed. It is intended to be the start of a critically important discussion on this topic, one that will inform and guide the development of a useful and enduring doctrine, as well as subsequent policies and strategies, for the United States.