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Cyber Warfare

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Cyber warfare involves the actions by a nation-state or international organization to attack and attempt to damage another nation's computers or information networks through, for example, computer viruses or denial-of-service attacks. RAND research provides recommendations to military and civilian decisionmakers on methods of defending against the damaging effects of cyber warfare on a nation's digital infrastructure.

Report

The Emerging Risk of Virtual Societal Warfare

Oct 9, 2019

Living in an information society opens unprecedented opportunities for hostile rivals to cause disruption, delay, inefficiency, and harm. Social manipulation techniques are evolving beyond disinformation and cyberattacks on infrastructure sites. How can democracies protect themselves?
Commentary

What Translation Troubles Can Tell Us About Russian Information Warfare

Oct 4, 2019

Russian information warfare has attracted significant international attention since 2014. But little research has focused on its apparent shortcomings. Most notable are the confusing translation mistakes that undermine Moscow's attempts at covert influence efforts.

Explore Cyber Warfare

Report

Exploring Cybersecurity Threats and Policy Responses in the EU and Beyond

Existing cybersecurity measures in the EU are fragmented, largely due to gaps in operational capabilities as well as strategic priorities of Member States. However, there are many policy options that may improve the EU's overall cybersecurity approach.

Nov 18, 2015
Journal Article

Deterrence, Influence, Cyber Attack, and Cyberwar

This study uses a simple model to speculate about whether deterrence can be a significant part of dealing with special features of the cyber attack challenge, and distinguishing different classes and contexts of cyber threats.

Nov 13, 2015
Commentary

The Two Sides of Cybersecurity

Securing government networks is certainly necessary, but authorities should not lose sight of the need to couple their defense of America's networks with appropriate resources dedicated to combatting criminal, terrorist, and other threats in cyberspace.

Nov 13, 2015
Research Brief

Cybersecurity of Air Force Weapon Systems: Ensuring Cyber Mission Assurance Throughout a System's Life Cycle

Discusses how the Air Force acquisition/life-cycle management community can improve cybersecurity throughout the life cycle of Air Force weapon systems.

Oct 27, 2015
Report

Improving the Cybersecurity of U.S. Air Force Weapon Systems

U.S. Air Force weapon systems containing information technology may be vulnerable to intelligence exploitation and cyberattacks. But there are steps that the Air Force can take to improve the security of these systems throughout their life cycles.

Oct 27, 2015
Multimedia

United States and China: Trends in Military Competition

In this October 2015 congressional briefing, Eric Heginbotham discusses relative U.S. and Chinese military capabilities, including the evolution of Chinese military capabilities, steps the United States can take to limit the impact of a growing Chinese military on deterrence, and other U.S. strategic interests.

Oct 5, 2015
Testimony

Perspective on 2015 DoD Cyber Strategy

The DoD's cyber strategy is aligned with its mission, but there will be challenges to implementation—including building and maintaining a capable workforce, assessing risk across DoD networks and systems, and planning for operations.

Sep 29, 2015
Commentary

Define Acceptable Cyberspace Behavior

While a U.S.-China cyberspace agreement is a welcome step, it also underscores the greater issues facing the United States and the international community in this largely ungoverned space. A precondition for securing U.S. networks should be the development of an overarching cyber doctrine that defines acceptable behavior and allows the U.S. to defend its networks against threats.

Sep 27, 2015
Commentary

The U.S.-China Summit Is More Significant for Xi Jinping Than Obama

The Xi-Obama summit will provide the opportunity to discuss contentious issues like cybersecurity and the South China Sea, as well as other issues, such as climate change and economic cooperation. For Xi, the visit underscores the tremendous importance of messaging to a Chinese audience the narrative of a continued stable and robust partnership with the country that matters most to China politically and economically.

Sep 24, 2015
Multimedia

Lessons from a Hacker: Cyber Concepts for Policymakers

In this September 14th congressional briefing, Lillian Ablon discusses the basics of cyber and information security and provides insights into some of the complexities of cybersecurity policymaking. Topics include why software vulnerabilities are significant, the components of cyber risk beyond the threat, motivations of various cyber threats actors, and what they exploit.

Sep 14, 2015
News Release

China's Military Modernization Increasingly Challenges U.S. Defense Capabilities in Asia

Although China continues to lag behind the United States in terms of aggregate military hardware and operational skills, it has improved its capabilities relative to those of the U.S. in many critical areas. Moreover, China does not need to catch up fully in order to challenge U.S. ability to conduct effective military operations near the Chinese mainland.

Sep 14, 2015
Research Brief

Tallying the U.S.-China Military Scorecard

A set of “scorecards” assesses the relative capabilities of U.S. and Chinese military forces in diverse types of conflict, at varying distances from the Chinese mainland, and at different points in time.

Sep 14, 2015
Report

China's Military Modernization Increasingly Challenges U.S. Defense Capabilities in Asia

Although China continues to lag behind the United States in terms of aggregate military hardware and operational skills, it has improved its capabilities relative to those of the U.S. in many critical areas. Moreover, China does not need to catch up fully in order to challenge U.S. ability to conduct effective military operations near the Chinese mainland.

Sep 14, 2015
Announcement

RAND Hosts Cybersecurity Exercise

The discussion of cybersecurity should not be trapped within narrow technical, national security, or legal stovepipes and should include an examination of economic, civil, and societal factors. With that goal in mind, RAND hosted an analytic exercise on cybersecurity.

Sep 3, 2015
Essay

Interdependence Day: Contending with a New Global Order

A team of RAND experts took a sober look at the threats facing the United States and developed a playbook of strategies to address them.

Aug 21, 2015
Testimony

Strategies for Defending U.S. Government Networks in Cyberspace: Addendum

Document submitted on July 31, 2015 as an addendum to testimony presented before the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies on June 24, 2015.

Aug 3, 2015
Multimedia

Strategic Rethink: Choices for America in a Turbulent World

In this July 2015 Congressional Briefing, Ambassador James Dobbins discusses the report he coauthored with Howard Shatz and David Ochmanek, Choices for America in a Turbulent World. This is the first paper in the "Strategic Rethink" project, in which RAND researchers examine the most consequential choices that are likely to face this president and the next.

Jul 24, 2015
Project

The RAND Strategic Rethink Project

The RAND Strategic Rethink project explores important strategic questions facing the United States, producing a guide for policymakers, citizens, educators, and the media on the most critical global choices and challenges facing the country.

Jul 23, 2015
News Release

With Upcoming 2016 Election, Global Power Shifts Will Face the Next U.S. President

Chaos in the Middle East, Russian intervention, Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, climate change, and a decline in U.S. military readiness have raised questions about how America envisions its role in a turbulent geopolitical environment. Nevertheless, the world is not falling apart and these difficulties are not beyond the United States' ability to manage.

Jul 23, 2015
Report

Choices for America in a Turbulent World

Today, the United States faces no existential threat. Rather, it confronts an unusually wide and diverse array of challenges. What strategic choices does it have in dealing with these challenges—and tomorrow's?

Jul 23, 2015

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RAND Topic:
Cyber Warfare

Topic Synonyms:
Computer Warfare;
Cyberwar

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