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Cyberspace should be viewed as the 'Fifth Battlespace'

Cyber warfare is a complex, fast-evolving political and technological phenomenon which can only be understood and managed if placed within a framework of national strategy. A new Chatham House report, On Cyber Warfare, argues that national strategy must itself be reviewed and adapted if it is to take proper account of cyber warfare.

It is likely, if not certain, that cyber warfare will be an increasingly important feature of conflict between states and others in years to come. Losses and gains made in cyberspace could have a fundamental effect on strategic thinking and on th e conduct of warfare as the physical and the territorial parameters of conflict are extended by the virtual and the digital.

This report is published at a key moment in the development of national and international thinking about cyber security. It aims to bring clarity to many of the poorly-defined concepts and terms used in relation to cyber warfare, and assist policy-makers to better understand the threat landscape, and current and future challenges.

The report's key findings include:

  • Cyber warfare can enable actors to achieve their political and strategic goals without the need for armed conflict.
  • Cyberspace gives disproportionate power to small and otherwise relatively insignificant actors.
  • Operating behind false IP addresses, foreign servers and aliases, attackers can act with almost complete anonymity and relative impunity, at least in the short-term.
  • In cyberspace the boundaries are blurred between the military and the civilian, and between the physical and the virtual; and power can be exerted by states or non-state actors, or by proxy.
  • Cyberspace should be viewed as the 'fifth battlespace', alongside the more traditional arenas of land, air, sea and space. Cyber warfare is best understood as a new but not entirely separate component of this multifaceted conflict environment.
  • The transatlantic relationship is important for a variety of reasons where cyber warfare is concerned. Close cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom in intelligence and military matters has extended into cyberspace, enabling both states to influence the domain in a way that is difficult, if not impossible, for any other bilateral partnership or alliance to match.

Notes to Editors

Read On Cyber Warfare >>
Chatham House Report
By Paul Cornish, David Livingstone, Dave Clemente and Claire Yorke.

To arrange an interview with the report authors, please contact the press office:

Nicola Norton at +44 (0)20 7957 5739 / +44 (0)7917 757 528

Sara Karnas at +44 (0)20 7314 2787 / +44 (0)7958 669 785

 

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