Omnipresent in discussions of military use of cyber is how cyberspace fits in with the other warfighting “domains” of land, air, sea, and space. This question is vital to several issues facing future security and force planners including military command and control doctrine and the possibility of deterring aggression in one domain with the promise of punitive measures in another (cross-domain deterrence).
President Trump signed the CLOUD Act into law on March 23, 2018, after the act passed through Congress – without a hearing or even a committee review – attached to an omnibus spending bill. As the CLOUD Act has significant implications for data security, privacy, and law enforcement capabilities in cyberspace, today we are adding the full text of the legislation to the Cyber Vault.
The Cyber Vault has gathered below a compendium of basic documents from certain key cyber-related court cases. Court documents are often crucial to understanding the judicial history of legal quandaries related to internet technology as well as how the United States investigates and prosecutes cyber-enabled crime and espionage.
The list is in alphabetical order by defendant. We encourage users to suggest additional cases or to provide relevant documents.
The United States Department of Justice recently announced the indictment of nine Iranian citizens for actions related to cyber-enabled theft of research, data, and intellectual property, a constant threat to both public and private interests. Iran itself has been a target of major foreign cyber intrusions – most notably the 2009-2010 Stuxnet attacks on its nuclear enrichment facilities – and its sophisticated capabilities in the cyber field have made it a growing worry for cyber defenders in the U.S.
USCYBERCOM has put flesh on the bones of its skeletal strategy declaration initially released in February 2018. A month later, on March 23, the Command made public a new, 12-page “Command Vision” that substantially expands on the earlier paper (posted below). Several analysts have already remarked on its significance. For example, Richard J. Harknett at the University of Cincinnati, who was consulted on the new approach, writes in Lawfare that it “marks a significant evolution in cyber operations and strategic thinking.”
High-profile U.S. government personnel changes are dominating the news this week. Possibly slipping under the radar for many is the pivotal, pending nomination of Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone to head the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command, a post that will put him at the center of several hot-button national security – and political – controversies. Beyond the Russia hacking conundrum, the new NSA director will have to confront fundamental questions about the nature and direction of U.S.
The encryption debate pitting concerns of privacy and civil rights against concerns of law enforcement and national security has grown in significance in recent years. Today’s posting provides a series of reports and articles on current encryption concerns, followed by Congressional testimony from the Clinton-Era to the present.
While election interference using the information space continues to demand attention, today’s posting examines questions related to the security of election systems themselves.
On Friday February 16th, 2018 the United States Justice Department indicted three organizations and thirteen Russian individuals for Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Bank Fraud related to actions before and after the 2016 Presidential Election designed to manipulate American politics. Today’s posting includes the indictment as well as a selection of documents from the Cyber Vault pertaining to Russian use of cyberspace as a tool of political influence.
With Russian election hacking still in the news, today’s posting features a recent Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service publication that includes an in-depth analysis of Russia's strategy for using influence and cyber operations in Europe. Also included are related reports and government documents on Russian strategy, national cyber defense strategies, and international cyber defense cooperation in Europe.