Skip to content
Unit 19Cyber Conflict and Cyber Strategy
All chapters
  1. 1. A Message from the Authors
  2. 2. What is Cyber Warfare?
  3. 3. Cyber arms control
  4. 4. Offence and Defence of Major Cyber Powers
  5. 5. Cyber Terrorism and the Protection of Critical National Infrastructures
  6. 6. The European Union’s Role in Cybersecurity
  7. 7. Summary and Further Reading
Your bookmarks

When you add chapters to your bookmarks they'll appear here.

Two men in military uniform are seen from behind, looking up at large screens showing world maps, graphs, and other information.

Above: U.S. Cyber Command members work in the Integrated Cyber Center at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland on 2 April, 2021.

Photo: Josef Cole / Public domain. Source: U.S. Department of Defense

Cyber Conflict and Cyber Strategy

This learning unit introduces the hierarchy of cyber threats, describes the aggressive and defensive capabilities of various actors, and examines the international legal framework and options available to improve cyber security in military and civilian contexts.

Start learning unit

Chapters

  1. 1. A Message from the Authors

  2. 2. What is Cyber Warfare?

  3. 3. Cyber arms control

  4. 4. Offence and Defence of Major Cyber Powers

  5. 5. Cyber Terrorism and the Protection of Critical National Infrastructures

  6. 6. The European Union’s Role in Cybersecurity

  7. 7. Summary and Further Reading

Learning Objectives

Hardly a day passes without bad news from the cyber sector: Cyberattacks against state and military institutions are now almost the norm, and private individuals must be enormously wary of phishing or encryption attacks. The internet, labelled by Chancellor Merkel in 2013 as “uncharted territory”, seems to have become a conflict zone where malevolent state and non-state actors are up to mischief. The press therefore often indulges in hyperbole about “cyberwars” or “cyberattacks”. On the other hand, the worst fears of a cyber-Pearl Harbor have (so far?) not materialized. So where do we stand at the moment?

In this learning unit we try to distinguish between the different levels of cyber threats by looking at different actors capable of aggressive cyber operations. We also look at the international legal framework and the options available to make cyberspace more secure – both at the state and civilian level. After completing this learning unit, you will:

  • be familiarized with the basic concepts of different cyber incidents
  • understand why the cyber realm is no lawless territory from the perspective of international law
  • be introduced to different state and non-state actors which might, or might not, pose a threat to cybersecurity
  • comprehend limits and possibilities of arms control and disarmament in the cyber realm
  • understand the specific EU policy on cybersecurity

Credits

  • Niklas Schoernig profile image

    Niklas Schoernig

    Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

    Dr. Niklas Schörnig has been a senior research fellow with the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), Germany, since 2005. Prior to joining PRIF as a research fellow, Dr. Schörnig was a Ph.D. candidate at PRIF and wrote his dissertation on American defense industrial policy during the 1990s. He received his Ph.D. (summa cum laude) from Goethe-University, Frankfurt, in 2005. Since 2005 he has been a regular visiting lecturer at Goethe-University, Frankfurt. In 2012 he received the “Best Article Award 2006-2011” of the German Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen (Journal of International Relations).

    His current research at PRIF focuses, inter alia, on current trends in warfare, military robotics, military missions of Western democracies and Australian foreign and security policy. His most recent publications include inter alia: “Killer Drones – The Silver Bullet of Democratic Warfare?” In: Security Dialogue, 2012, 43: 4, 353-370 (with Frank Sauer); “The Militant Face of Democracy. Liberal Forces for Good“, Cambridge University Press, 2013 (Editor, with Anna Geis and Harald Müller); and „Automatisierte Kriegsführung – Wie viel Entscheidungsraum bleibt dem Menschen?“ [Automated Warfare – what is left for the human to decide?] In: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 2014: 35-37, 27-34.

  • Tommaso de Zan profile image

    Tommaso de Zan

    University of Oxford

    Tommaso is a PhD student in cybersecurity at the University of Oxford, where he is investigating policies to mitigate the cybersecurity skills shortage. He regularly collaborates with the European Union Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) as a CEI expert on topics related to cybersecurity skills development in the EU. Prior to his PhD, he was an Associate Fellow at the European Union Institute for Security Studies, a Researcher at the International Affairs Institute and an intern at the International Peace Research Institute in Geneva. He holds a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Bologna and he was an exchange student at the Hertie School, Josef Korbel School of International Studies and Université catholique de Louvain.

Start learning unit
Download PDF

Disclosures

Content Warning

This learning unit may contain audio-visual material or texts, which may not be suitable for all audiences.

Funding

This Learning Unit was produced with financial assistance from the European Union. The contents of this Learning Unit are however the sole responsibility of the author(s) and should under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

External Links

The site may contain hyperlink text references (’Links’) to other sites that are offered by third parties. These Links are made available solely for the purpose of information and as an additional service for users. Only the respective operator is responsible for all content and statements on linked Internet sites. Therefore, PRIF cannot guarantee the correctness and accuracy or any other aspect of third party sites.

Preferred Citation

Niklas Schoernig and Tommaso de Zan, "Cyber Conflict and Cyber Strategy" in EUNPDC eLearning, ed. Niklas Schörnig, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt. Available at https://eunpdc-elearning.netlify.app/lu-19/, last modified 23 September 2024

The EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament eLearning Course aims to cover all aspects of the EU non-proliferation and disarmament agenda. It's produced by PRIF with financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of individual learning units are the sole responsibility of the respective authors and don't necessariy reflect the position of the European Union.