Deter, Disrupt, or Deceive: Assessing Cyber Conflict as an Intelligence Contest

The book challenges the traditional view of cyber war and proposes that cyber activities are more like an intelligence contest. It examines this concept across several areas of cyber security policy and in different national contexts, and gives rise to a unique dialogue among leading experts.

Format: Hardback
Length: 318 pages
Publication date: 01 May 2023
Publisher: Georgetown University Press

A fresh perspective on statecraft in the cyber domain has emerged, challenging the traditional notion of "cyber war" as a dominant lens in academic and popular discourse. The idea of war and its associated expectations of death and destruction may not accurately reflect the nature of cyber competition and conflict. Instead, a more nuanced approach that views cyber activities as an intelligence contest, where both states and non-state actors engage in a struggle for information advantage below the threshold of war, has gained traction. In their book, "Deter, Disrupt, or Deceive: Cyber Conflict and Strategic Communication," Robert Chesney and Max Smeets argue that reframing cyber competition as an intelligence contest will enhance our ability to analyze and strategize about cyber events and policy. The contributors to this volume explore this intelligence concept across various areas of cyber security policy and in different national contexts, offering a unique dialogue that highlights areas of agreement and disagreement among leading experts. Taken as a whole, the chapters provide a comprehensive and thought-provoking exploration of the logics and implications of this reframing, placing it in conversation with the broader fields of international relations and intelligence studies. "Deter, Disrupt, or Deceive" is a must-read for scholars, practitioners, and students seeking a new way to understand statecraft in the cyber domain.

Weight: 626g
Dimension: 159 x 237 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781647123307