Cyber C2: Achieving Scrutability and Agency in Cyberspace Operations

TL;DR

This paper discusses the challenges of command and control in cyberspace due to its extreme variability, malleability, and velocity, which hinder understanding and influence, setting the stage for future solutions.

Contribution

It analyzes the fundamental difficulties of cyber command and control caused by cyberspace's properties, providing a foundation for developing more effective cyber operations.

Findings

Cyberspace's properties make it largely inscrutable.

Current limitations restrict agency in cyberspace operations.

Future work will address these challenges.

Abstract

Our thesis is that operating in cyberspace is challenging because cyberspace exhibits extreme variety, high malleability, and extreme velocity. These properties make cyberspace largely inscrutable and limits one's agency in cyberspace, where agency is the ability to exert influence to transform the state or behaviour of the environment. With this thesis, we explore the nature of cyberspace, command and control (C2), and diagnose the challenges for cyber C2, with treatment to follow in future work.