Theoretical Examination of the Cyber Warfare Environment

As there is no generally accepted definition for cyber warfare it is quite liberally used in describing events and action in the digital cyber world. The concept of cyber warfare became extremely popular from 2008-2010, partly superseding the previously used concept of information warfare which was launched in the 1990s. For some, cyber warfare is war which is conducted in the virtual domain. For others, it is a counterpart of conventional ` kinetic' warfare. According to the OECD's 2001 report, cyberwar military doctrines resemble those of so-called conventional war: retaliation and deterrence. Researchers agree with the notion that the definition of cyberwar should address the aims and motives of war, rather than the forms of cyber operations. They believe that war is always widespread and encompasses all forms of warfare. Hence, cyber warfare is but one form of waging war, used alongside kinetic attacks. The new capacities of armed forces create new possibilities, both the kinetic and non-kinetic use of force in cyberspace. Cyber era capabilities make possible operations in the new non-linear and indefinite hybrid cyber battlespace. It must be possible to seamlessly integrate the decision-makers, actors and all types of manned and unmanned platforms in the air, on the surface, under the surface, in space and in cyberspace. The main trends that are changing the cyber battlespace are networking, time shortening, the increasing amount of data, proliferation of autonomous and robotic systems as well as artificial intelligence and cognitive computing. Cyber space can be modeled as a five layer structure, the parts of which are physical, syntactic, semantic, service and cognitive. The threats, vulnerabilities and risks can be described and modeled in each of the layers of this cyber space model. Dedicated attack vectors, operation models and cyber weapons have been developed for these layers. This paper analyzes the new trends in cyber era warfare, command and control and effect-based cyber operations. The paper uses both Boyd's OODA-loop and Wardens Five Ring -model as the framework for modern non-kinetic cyber warfare operations.