Source: Phil Leggiere, HSToday:
Discussions of cybersecurity often pivot around the metaphor of warfare. According to a new report from Rand Corporation, however, historic constructs of war such as force, offense, defense and deterrence are of little relevance to strategic thinking about how to defend critical infrastructure systems based on networked communications systems.Rather the report, titled Cyberdeterrence and Cyberwar, originally sponsored by the US Air Force but covering the wider terrain of cybersecurity, says, “cyberspace must be understood in its own terms, and policy decisions being made for these and other new commands must reflect such understanding.” Attempts to transfer policy constructs from other forms of warfare therefore, the report adds, will not only fail but also hinder policy and planning.