Study: History of Cyber Conflict

UPDATE: The CCSA History Call for Papers Has Started, For More Information Click Here.

This project will culminate in a volume that will provide the first comprehensive (but non-technical) history of cyber conflict, from its pre-history, to the origins in the 1980s and up to today. It will be aimed at policy makers and practitioners to give them perspective on the threats, problems and solutions of the past to better guide the direction of solutions in the future.

The Importance of Cyber History

Deputy Secretary of Defense Lynn has emphasized the importance of developing a “cyber cadre” for national defense. In other areas of national security, one way newly hired people learn the field is through the vicarious experience of those that have gone before. Understanding history is the main way to turn the experience of the past generations into cumulative knowledge, such as by teaching military officers the implications of Gettysburg, Inchon, Trafalgar or MIG Alley.

Even though major conflicts have occurred in cyber conflict since the mid-1980s, these are largely unknown and untaught, making it far more likely we will continue repeating the same mistakes. This cyber conflict history project will mine cyber conflict history to develop this vicarious experience and create a narrative of “cyber mindedness” to connect past, present and future cyber cadres.

Cyber Conflict Contest

The Cyber Conflict Studies Association (CCSA), and AFCEA International have collaborated to create a cyber conflict history case studies contest. Up to six prizes of up to $1,000 will be awarded for the best submissions. The call for entries begins December 2012, and the deadline for entering the competition is June 1, 2012.

The contest comprises three entrant categories: university students, military service members and professionals who do not qualify in either of the first two categories. Prizes will be awarded in each group, and authors must specify which they are entering when submitting their papers. For the official call to papers and more information please click here.

Bios

Jason Healey is the Principal Investigator for CCSA History. He also serves as the Director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative of the Atlantic Council, is a lecturer in cyber policy at Georgetown University, and a senior consultant at Delta Risk—a boutique cyber defense firm. Healey started his career in the Air Force, and was a founding member of the Joint Task Force – Computer Network Defense.

Karl Grindal is the Project Manager for CCSA History. He also is a cybersecurity consultant at Delta Risk. He recently got his Masters from Georgetown's Public Policy Institute, where he concentrated in technology policy.

To contact the Cyber History Project, email Karl at karl(at)cyberconflict.org