Examining Drivers of Conflict

Modern conflict and instability often reach through the cyber domain, leveraging cyber tools and cyber-enabled technologies to effect change. Emerging technologies and cyber tools are accessible to a wide range of actors, creating additional paths by which they can pursue their goals, whether they be financial, ideological, or traditionally strategic. This portfolio of work examines the intersection of markets and conflict occurring in and through cyberspace, with particular attention given to the nonstate actors.

Projects

Events

On Breaking Things: Melding Cyber and Kinetic in Conflict

THU, APRIL 20, 2023

A panel discussion on lethal outcomes of cyber operations, coordination between cyber and kinetic forces, and integration of cyber options in future warfare within the context of larger intelligence and military behaviors.

Cyber Operations in Context: A Look at Joint Task Force Ares

MON, SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

This public discussion focused on the recent declassification of key documents related to the conception, initial standup, and operation of JTF Ares and Operation Glowing Symphony, part of the the counter-ISIL cyber effects campaign. The goal of this discussion is to connect these operations with the evolving discussion around the Defend Forward strategy and the central role played by coalition warfare.


The Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative, under the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), works at the nexus of geopolitics and cybersecurity to craft strategies to help shape the conduct of statecraft and to better inform and secure users of technology.

Conflict in and through the Cyber Domain

Wed, Jan 24, 2024

The 5×5—Forewarned is forearmed: Cybersecurity policy in 2024

Members of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative team discuss the regulatory requirements and emerging technology they are closely following in 2024, and forewarn of the year ahead.

by Nitansha Bansal, Trey Herr

Artificial Intelligence Conflict in and through the Cyber Domain
A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. Capitalizing on spying tools believed to have been developed by the U.S. National Security Agency, hackers staged a cyber assault with a self-spreading malware that has infected tens of thousands of computers in nearly 100 countries. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Wed, Nov 1, 2023

Hacker collectives take sides in the Mideast crisis

Telegram feeds of hacker groups document alleged attacks targeting Israel

by Ruslan Trad

Conflict in and through the Cyber Domain Cybersecurity

Mon, Feb 27, 2023

A Parallel Terrain: Public-Private Defense of the Ukrainian Information Environment

The information environment is a key domain through which the war in Ukraine is being contested. By better understanding the key role that private tech companies play in this domain, the USs and Ukraine can better prepare for future threats.

by Emma Schroeder* and Sean Dack