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Cross-Domain Deterrence and Credible Threats

Abstract: 
Our understanding of deterrence in the 21st century has evolved to meet the new challenges that the fundamental characteristics of the cyber age pose. Issues such as asymmetric attacks and responses, dissimulated identities, and credibility of the deterrent threat, alter the perceptions and reactions to cyber attacks, which change how deterrence may function. The author argues that, to be most effective in the cyber domain, actors relying on deterrence should use cross-domain deterrence, drawing from other sectors such as military capabilities or international norms and stigmatization. Key words: Deterrence, norms, cross-domain
Author: 
James A. Lewis
Institution: 
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Year: 
2010
Domains-Issue Area: 
Industry Focus: 
Internet & Cyberspace
Datatype(s): 
Theory/Definition