The U.S. Response to the 2016 Russian Election Meddling and the Evolving National Strategic Thought in Cyberspace
(Part 1)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The copyright to this article is transferred to the University of Public Service Budapest, Hungary (for U.S. government employees: to the extent transferable) effective if and when the article is accepted for publication. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature.
The author warrants that this contribution is original and that he/she has full power to make this grant. The author signs for and accepts responsibility for releasing this material on behalf of any and all co-authors.
An author may make an article published by University of Public Service available on a personal home page provided the source of the published article is cited and University of Public Service is mentioned as copyright holder
Abstract
Due to the heightened political sensitivity caused by the recently held U.S. midterm elections and the frenzied media concentration on the 2016 election meddling, hacking and leaks have been in the focus of public discussions ever since. In order to better comprehend the appraisal of the U.S. political leadership back in 2016 and early in 2017, this article contextualizes the events and the response measures in the wider cybersecurity position of the U.S. Tracking down the development of the U.S. political and military approach to cyber threats, we came to the conclusion that the U.S. is lacking a working cybersecurity policy largely because its perception of cyber threats is self-centred and still deeply rooted in the strategic thinking of nuclear or traditional military attacks. Even if the same strategic principles are valid in cyberspace, cyberattacks, single, systemic or part of a broader influence operation, they play out according to a set of completely different dynamics than kinetic attacks. The true strategic lesson of the recent election meddling is that Russia has been, and most probably will be, able to seize the momentum and masterfully exploit those inherent deficiencies. Consequently, cyberspace as a strategic environment necessitates the careful analysis of the strategic thinking of the potential adverse nation.