Cyber Operations: Air Force Doctrine Document 3-12

Explains the context of cyberspace operations within the Air Force, defining fundamental concepts including the strategic environment, general strategic policy, missions, military challenges, the Airman’s perspective, principles of war, tenets of airpower, and cross-domain integration. Challenges of cyberspace operations are: mission assurance, compressed decision cycle of cyberspace operations, anonymity and the inherent attribution challenge, and other threats to cyberspace operations including the nation state, transnational actor, criminal organizations, and individuals or small groups. Describes the command, control, and organization of cyberspace forces, depicting operational-level policy, command relationships, and commander responsibilities. Discusses global and theater operations and JFC objectives. Describes the design, planning, execution, and assessment of Air Force cyberspace operations as well as their legal concerns, logistics, and operational considerations. Lists ten things every Airman must know with respect to cyberspace operations: the United States is vulnerable to cyberspace attacks millions of times a day; adversaries plant malicious code, worms, botnets, and hooks; malicious code destroys and manipulates sensitive information; adversaries can attack work and home computers; cyber wingmen have a critical role in defending their networks, their security, and their country; simple actions can increase security; attachments or links from emails that aren’t digitally signed should not be opened; connection to any hardware or software without approval should not take place; sensitive, unclassified, and critical information should be encrypted; free Department of Defense anti-virus software should be installed on home computers.