Cyber Conflict/Policy Dilemmas

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

The Evolution of Cyber Conflict and Competition: Key Cases and Issues Informing Cyberwar Debates: This seminar examines key cases and issues informing our understanding of the cyber domain as an arena of conflict and competition from the perspective of U.S. national security policy and planning and ongoing debates about cyberwar. The course begins with a critical review of U.S. definitions of cyberspace, the cyber domain, and approaches to national security strategy and doctrine, including a dissection of the “Cyber Pearl Harbor” analogy. The bulk of the course is devoted to understanding key case studies dominating thinking about the future of “cyberwar," including: STUXNET, China’s cyber order of battle, China-US disagreement over intellectual property theft, Russian cyber operations in Estonia, Georgia, and the Ukraine, and Iranian cyber attacks. Additional time is devoted to understanding how cyber attacks are addressed in international law and the law of armed conflict. Classes consist of lecture, class discussion, and student presentations. Grading is based on class participation, student presentations, a take-home mid-term, and a research paper. The objective of the course is to understand and apply lessons from the key concepts, cases, and inflection points that shape current policy, doctrine, and strategy related to cyberwar and conflict in the cyber domain.