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Cyberwar

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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.

Commentary
Cyber Attacks Reveal Uncomfortable Truths About U.S. Defenses
Without government investments and policies to drive transparency and a clear understanding of what cybersecurity tools do, how well they work, and how securely they are built, the United States risks continuing to offer its adversaries the means to undermine its systems and, ultimately, its security.
Sep 21, 2023
Commentary
How Taiwan Can Build 'Digital Resilience'
If China were to attack Taiwan, it is very likely to attempt to control all communications on the island and block contact with the rest of the world. What actions can Taiwan take to maintain contact with allies, supporters, and its own people in the event of such an invasion?
Jul 6, 2023

Explore Cyber Warfare

Report
Quantifying Vulnerability Lifespans for U.S. Marine Corps Joint Cyber Weapons
The authors generated novel vulnerability life span and software update cadence datasets. Datasets were used to quantify cost and operational time uncertainties, and estimate life-cycle costs of the U.S. Marine Corps Joint Cyber Weapons program.
Nov 14, 2023
Report
Anticipating Flashpoints with Russia: Patterns and Drivers
The authors combined quantitative and qualitative modes of analysis to better understand and anticipate flashpoints with Russia.
Sep 25, 2023
Report
Building a Joint Cyber Weapons Acquisition Program in the Marine Corps: Software Acquisition Pathway Lessons Learned
The authors present lessons learned from an effort to inform future U.S. Marine Corps Joint Cyber Weapon program acquisition information requirements and educate Department of Defense Software Acquisition Pathway program planning efforts.
Sep 20, 2023
Commentary
Airmen Out-Paced
As it stands now, airmen are being asked to pick up the pieces when communications networks and chains of command break. Mission command could be the means to succeed in the future, but only after the USAF does the hard work now to make organizational changes and define a viable construct to guide their efforts.
Sep 8, 2023
Report
Creating Selective Overmatch: An Approach to Developing Cyberspace Options to Sustain U.S. Primacy Against Revisionist Powers
The authors apply the concept of selective overmatch to reevaluate current U.S. cyber operations in light of competition and possible conflict with China and show how this framework can provide a roadmap for U.S. Cyber Command’s future operations.
Sep 7, 2023
Commentary
Embracing the Messiness of Public-Private Collaboration in the Fight Against Botnets
Botnets are networks of computers infected with malware that an attacker controls and uses to fulfill malicious cyber activities. Decisionmakers could incorporate a complex adaptive systems perspective to assess if their organization and immediate network, as well as the overall ecosystem, are adaptable and resilient enough to respond to botnet activities.
Aug 16, 2023
Report
Ukrainian Civilians' Contributions to Resisting Russia
Civilian-based resistance in Ukraine began in the first hours of Russia's 2022 invasion. Civilians' actions have potential value in helping ensure victory by regaining territorial integrity and maintaining political sovereignty. And this war offers insight into what civilian contributions in future wars could look like.
Aug 15, 2023
Commentary
Why DoD Needs Greater Focus on Nonlethal Weapons, Intermediate Force Capabilities
Nonlethal weapons do not entail the firing of projectiles, the detonation of explosives, or even the use of edged weapons with blades. Their effects are more subtle, though no less powerful for that. But the effects of these systems, and their impact on overall military capabilities, are often underestimated or misunderstood.
Aug 8, 2023
Report
Overcoming Barriers to Working with Highly Capable Allies and Partners in the Air, Space, and Cyber Domains: An Exploratory Analysis
In this report, the authors consider how the United States can enhance engagement with highly capable allies and partners to improve interoperability by identifying some of the main barriers to security cooperation with these countries.
Jul 5, 2023
Report
Assessing the Impact of Diverse Intermediate Force Capabilities and Integrating Them into Wargames for the U.S. Department of Defense and NATO
The authors of this report describe how to measure the impact of intermediate force capabilities (IFCs), which cause less-than-lethal effects, and how to better integrate them into wargaming, modeling, and simulation for U.S. and NATO-wide forces.
Jun 27, 2023
Report
Chinese Next-Generation Psychological Warfare
China is interested in both advanced computing and brain science to expand and improve its psychological warfare capabilities. How might this affect U.S.-China dynamics in peacetime competition, crisis, and conflict?
Jun 1, 2023
Report
Alternative Futures Following a Great Power War: Volume 1, Scenarios, Findings, and Recommendations
RAND researchers generated four plausible near-term great power war scenarios and assessed how they could shape the postwar strategic environment.
May 9, 2023
Research Brief
The Aftermath of a Great Power War
A review of historical great power wars shows that prewar predictions about who would fight, how long the war would last, and how the world would look afterward were often wrong. It's important to understand what the outcomes of different conflicts could look like and how to better prepare for them.
May 9, 2023
Commentary
Consequences of the War in Ukraine: Escalation
If Russian forces remain unable to defeat Ukraine, and Putin remains unwilling to back down, what escalation options does Russia have left?
Feb 27, 2023
Journal Article
Exploring Chinese Thinking on Deterrence in the Not-So-New Space and Cyber Domains
This conference volume chapter explores evolving Chinese thinking on space and cyber deterrence. Besides nuclear deterrence, the space and cyber domains are viewed by China as its main means of strategic deterrence.
Feb 21, 2023
Report
Russia's Evolution Toward a Unified Strategic Operation: The Influence of Geography and Conventional Capacity
In this report, RAND researchers examine the reasons behind Russia's evolution toward a unified strategic operation, as well as the capabilities that would be necessary to execute key conventional offensive tasks in such an operation.
Feb 13, 2023
Report
A Cost Estimating Framework for U.S. Marine Corps Joint Cyber Weapons
To help improve leadership decisionmaking related to the costs of offensive cyber operations acquisition, the authors developed a life-cycle cost-estimating framework for the U.S. Marine Corps and conducted exploratory modeling and simulation.
Feb 2, 2023
Report
The Role of Information in U.S. Concepts for Strategic Competition
Gray zone activities—acts of aggression that remain below the threshold of war—can be used to gain an edge in great-power competition. How can the information environment support U.S. responses to these activities?
Oct 25, 2022

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RAND Topic:
Cyber Warfare

Topic Synonyms:
Computer Warfare;
Cyberwar

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Christopher Paul

Senior Social Scientist

Christopher Paul is a senior social scientist at RAND and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Paul provides research support related to operations in the information environment, information warfare, the information joint/warfighting function, counterpropaganda, cyber operations, and…
Keller Scholl

Assistant Policy Researcher, RAND

Keller Scholl (he/him) is an assistant policy researcher at RAND and a Ph.D. candidate at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. He primarily studies the policy impacts of AI systems beyond the current frontier on issues ranging from labor markets to force planning to safety. He has also worked on…

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