Cyber-Warfare: The Importance of the New Digital Battlefield

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For thousands of years warfare remained relatively unchanged. While the tactics and weapons have changed as new methods of combat evolved, men and women or their weapons still had to meet at the same time and place in order to attack, defend, surrender or conquer. However, the advent of the of the internet has created a new realm of combat in which armies can remotely conduct surveillance, reconnaissance, espionage, and attacks from an ambiguous and space-less digital environment. Both state and non-state actors have already embraced this new realm and utilized both legal and illegal means to further facilitate their interests. What complicates cyber security further is as states attempt to protect themselves from cyber-warfare, private and commercial technological methods largely keeps pace with state technological developments, largely removing military advantages created through large militaries. Since the creation and implementation of international networking via the internet, the United States has adopted the technology within the military and government infrastructure. As a result, the United States has opened itself up to a new threat which must be actively addressed in order to protect the national security of the United States. Successful cyber-attacks originating in China, Russia, and the Middle East have already penetrated the United States military’s network infrastructure and leaked sensitive and classified information. While the size and the scope of the information breaches have not yet resulted in a grave threat to the United States, the increase in cyber-threats and cyber-attacks make cyber-warfare one of the most important national security issues facing the United States and the intelligence community. A ca... ... middle of paper ... ...rch Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 21, 2011). Lynn III, William J. 2010. "Defending a New Domain." In Foreign Affairs, 97-108. Foreign Affairs, 2010. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 21, 2011). Schaap, Arie J. 2009. "Cyber Warfare Operations: Development And Use Under International Law." Air Force Law Review 64, 121-173. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 21, 2011). Thomas C. Wingfield, 2000 “The Law of Information Conflict: National Security” Law in Cyberspace 17 (Aegis Research Coqj). Thornburgh, Nathan. “The Invasion of the Chinese Cyberspies - TIME.” http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1098961,00.html. Trias, Eric D., and Bryan M. Bell. 2010. "Cyber This, Cyber That ... So What?." Air & Space Power Journal 24, no. 1: 90-100. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed March 21, 2011).

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