Australia Declares Cyberwar

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and Australian Computer Society (ACS) today released a national cyberwarfare deterrence policy paper (Painter, 2018). The policy advocates unilateral reciprocity for cyber-attacks on Australia.

The report quotes Australia’s International Cyber Engagement Strategy:

"[h]aving established a firm foundation of international law and norms, the international community must now ensure there are effective consequences for those who act contrary to this consensus."

However, the Painter doctrine is more in line with the US strategy of promising "swift and costly consequences", saying:

"... every country has the right to act to defend itself, but, if possible, acting together, with each country leveraging its capabilities as appropriate, is better. Collective action doesn’t require any particular organised group ...". 

The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) has issued a draft learning design standard, detailing the knowledge required for government cyber security specialists. Civilian specialists working for government may well find themselves involved in offensive operations. The ANU offers a course in Cyber Offensive Security Operations as part of a Master of Cyber Security, Strategy and Risk Management. To address the ethical issues with being involved in such operations I have run students through a hypothetical on Cyberwar over the South China Sea.

Reference

Deterrence in cyberspace - Spare the costs, spoil the bad state actor: Deterrence in cyberspace requires consequences, Chris Painter, Australian Strategic Policy Institute Limited, 1 June 2018.