Revised DOD cyber doctrine highlights limits to U.S. powers

By Rick Weber / June 20, 2018 at 2:41 PM

The Pentagon has revised its five-year-old cyber operations plan by citing legal limits and the fast-changing nature of data technologies as imposing constraints on U.S. superiority in cyberspace.

"Even local superiority may be impractical due to the way IT [information technology] is implemented; the fact U.S. and other national governments do not directly control large, privately owned portions of cyberspace; the broad array of state and non-state actors; the low cost of entry; and the rapid and unpredictable proliferation of technology," according to the revised Joint Publication 3-12, Cyberspace Operations, dated June 8.

The document updates and expands on a Joint Chiefs of Staff paper issued in 2013, highlighting legal constraints on military action in cyberspace and the continued difficulty in attributing the source of a cyber attack on the U.S.

"Permanent global cyberspace superiority is not possible due to the complexity of cyberspace," concludes the new DOD publication.

"The ability to hide the sponsor and/or the threat behind a particular malicious effect in cyberspace makes it difficult to determine how, when, and where to respond," states the DOD joint publication. “The design of the Internet lends itself to anonymity and, combined with applications intended to hide the identity of users, attribution will continue to be a challenge for the foreseeable future." -- Rick Weber

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