No Shortcuts: Why States Struggle to Develop a Military Cyber-Force

by Max Smeets

Overview

Over the past decade, numerous states have declared cyberspace as a new domain of warfare, sought to develop a military cyber strategy and establish a cyber command. These developments have led to much policy talk and concern about the future of warfare as well as the digital vulnerability of society. No Shortcuts provides a level-headed view of where we are in the militarization of cyberspace. In this book, Max Smeets bridges the divide between technology and policy to assess the necessary building blocks for states to develop a military cyber capacity. Smeets argues that for many states, the barriers to entry into conflict in cyberspace are currently too high. Accompanied by a wide range of empirical examples, Smeets shows why governments abilities to develop military cyber capabilities might change over time and explains the limits of capability transfer by states and private actors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197764916
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/01/2023
Sales rank:	565,737
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 5.60(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Max Smeets is Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies, Zurich; Director of the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative; and an affiliate at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation. He publishes widely on cyber-statecraft, strategy and risk, including in The Washington Post, War on the Rocks and Slate.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables vii

Preface ix

Introduction 1

1 Conducting Cyber Effect Operations: Definitions and Data 13

2 Mind the Gap-. Trends in Cyber Policy and Activity 21

3 Not a Level Playing Field 33

4 A Typology of Cyber Actors 51

5 The Elements of an Offensive Cyber Capability 73

6 The Effect of Experience 93

7 Intentional Interstate Capability Transfers 113

8 Unintentional Interstate Capability Transfers 131

9 The Role of Non-State Actors 147

Conclusion 163

Acknowledgements 173

Notes 175

Selected Bibliography 243

Index 277

Editorial Reviews

"This is an ambitious book with a wealth of references." — James Andrew Lewis, Lawfare

From the Publisher