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The Challenges of Cyber Deterrence

MAJ Lee, Hsiang Wei
Articles
In the cyber realm, there are three necessary pillars of cyber defence strategy—a credible defence, an ability to retaliate and a will to retaliate. The concept of cyber deterrence builds upon this strategy to alter an adversary’s actions for fear of an impossible counter-action. Cyber security is an expensive business and is a difficult strategy to achieve. Despite billions of dollars spent on cyber security, it did not stem the rise in cyber-attacks over the past five years. Cyber deterrence is impractical for most nations given today’s technology and the lack of common interpretation of the international law for the cyber domain. This essay presents obstacles such as attribution, diminishing capability to retaliate, unnecessary escalation, involvement of non-state actors and a potential legal issue that make cyber deterrence a less viable strategy to adopt.
Source:
Pointer Vol. 41, No. 1
Series:
Pointer Article ; Vol. 41, No. 1
Language:
English
BRN:
129582
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