The Art of Cyber Warfare explores the strategic and tactical approaches for offense and defense in the digital age. Drawing on historical conflicts from Sun Tzu to Carl von Clausewitz, the author illustrates that, despite changed conditions such as time, location, means, and resources – but not the laws of physics – it is possible to learn from past actions and reactions.The author aims to demonstrate in this book that, in reality, we have only transferred old methods into our current era but have forgotten to translate their reasons, effects, and the resulting lessons. For, as it has been for thousands of years, the reasons for human-created conflicts remain the same: wealth, fame, power, honor, or desire. Can we learn something from history for present and future (cyber) wars?
Author(s): Peter Kestner
Edition: 2024
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2024
Language: English
Pages: 312
Introduction: 1984 and the Lessons of the Past
Contents
Part I Lessons from the Past
1 The Art of Cyber Warfare and the 13 Lessons of Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu’s Writing Style and the Transfer of His Work to the Present Day
What is the Art of War?
Strategy and Tactics
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Lesson 1: Planning and Preparation
Lesson 2: On the Art of War, or: When Initiating Actions
Lesson 3: Attack with Strategy, or: On the Proposals of Victory and Defeat
Lesson 4: Tactics
Lesson 5: Power
Lesson 6: Weaknesses and Strengths
Lesson 7: Struggle for the Initiative, or: The Strategies of the Direct and Indirect
Lesson 8: The Nine Variable Factors
Lesson 9: The Army on the March
Lesson 10: Terrain
Lesson 11: The Nine Types of Terrain
Lesson 12: On the Art of Attacking with Fire
Lesson 13: On the Use of Spies
Conclusion: The Essence of the Art of War
2 Codes and Secret Messages: From the Ancient Origins of Steganography and Cryptography and their Relevance to Today
Hidden Messages: The Invention of Steganography
The Holy Grail of Steganography
The Ancient Beginnings of Cryptography
The Caesar Shift
The Oriental Beginnings of Cryptoanalysis
Cipher vs. Code: The Secret Messages of the Popes
Politicians Beware: The Drama of Mary Stuart’s Encrypted Letters
The Vigenère Encryption: In Search of the Indecipherable Cipher
At the Transition to Modernity: How Ancient Algorithms Became Modern Encryption Technology Through Mechanics
The Enigma Principle and the Endless Race Against Time
A Different Story of Cryptocurrencies
Outlook: An Arms Race Without End?
3 Stuxnet and the Poisoned Well: What Connects the Middle Ages with the Cyber World
The castle as a symbol of medieval defense
Stuxnet and a Lesson from the Middle Ages
Built Defense
The Fall of the Knights
From the Middle Ages to the future and from the crossbow to the cyber troop: A brief history of technology in cyberspace
Part II Modern and Hybrid Warfare
4 “The End Justifies the Means” or: the Legacy of Carl von Clausewitz
War According to Clausewitz
The Theory of War According to Clausewitz
Types of War
Clausewitz and the New Wars
The Hybrid War as a “new” Form of Warfare
A Definition of Hybrid Warfare
So, is Cyberwar a Form of Hybrid War?
The Definition of Tactics and Strategy According to Clausewitz
5 The Shift of Powers, Borders, and Resources
The Nature of Cyber Warfare
Digital Weapons and the “Silent Arms Race”
What is the Goal of Cyber Warfare?
Does Cyberwar Have a Purpose?
Cyberwar and Cyber Diplomacy
6 New Rules for a New War
Why are There Even Rules for War?
On the International Legal Classification of Cyberwar
The Cyber War and the Transformation of Armed Violence
Cyber as the Fifth Dimension?
The Weapons of the War of the Future
The Automation of War
The Mathematics of the New War
Real-Time as a New Challenge
The Current Situation: Power Struggle and Power Vacuum
The Montreux Document as a Model?
On the Relevance of the Geneva Conventions
Necessity of a New Language
Part III The Art of Cyber Warfare
7 Techniques and Tactics of Cyber Warfare
The Importance of a Global Internet Infrastructure
Technology and Tactics of Cyber Warfare
The Difference Between Warriors and Soldiers in Digital Urban Warfare
The New Technology of War
The Cyber War as a War Without Humans
A Market for Vulnerabilities
Cybersecurity in the Digitally Networked World
A Race Against Time
Can a State Protect Itself Against Cyber Warfare?
8 Survival in Cyberspace: Strategies for Every Individual
The “Byzantine Problem”, the Human Factor, and a Warning
Be a Spartan!
(Re-)Know Yourself
The Failure of the Senses
How do I Hide in the Cyber World?
Ghost in the Shell
A Note on Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies
Do What No One Expects
Nothing is for Free!
“Back to the Roots”
The Psychology of the Masses, the Individual, and the Primitive Man
9 Propaganda—How it Worked in the Past and What it is Today
Propaganda as Part of Digital Warfare
More Than Propaganda
The War of the Future is an Information War
From the Cold War to the Iron Curtain 2.0
Propaganda as the Opposite of Diplomacy
At the Border of Propaganda: Technology for Influencing Language and Human Behavior
Part IV Outlook: The Future of Cyber Warfare
10 The World in 2084
On the Relevance of this Book
Some Thoughts on the Current War in Ukraine and Israel
The Winners Write History
The World in 2084
A Glimmer of Hope
References
