RETHINKING SECURITY

Very interesting new paper out of NDU, and takes the right approach. Quoting from the summary:

Manzo concludes that attacks that strike targets in space and cyberspace and affect capabilities and events in other domains should be judged on the basis of their real-world effects. This approach would help decisionmakers determine whether responses in different domains are proportionate or escalatory. Manzo argues that a shared framework for assessing deterrence and escalation in cross-domain operations that involve space or cyberspace must also address variables such as differing strategic objectives, cultures and capabilities, the balance between offense and defense in space and cyberspace, U.S. responses to cyber exploitation during peacetime, and the strategic context (peacetime, crisis, limited conflict, or full-scale war).

One of the biggest problems in this area is the idea of discrete domains and different rules. Manzo’s paper is a tentative first step in a more cohesive direction.