Cyber-bombing ISIS: why disclose what is better kept secret?

ABSTRACT

It has become a conventional wisdom in strategic studies that the development and use of cyber weapons should be kept secret, as the effectiveness of these tools is dependent on opponents being unaware of a particular cyber weapon’s characteristics. Why, then, has the US military repeatedly publicized its cyber operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq? Why reveal what is supposedly better conducted in the dark? In this essay, we provide four answers to this puzzle. We argue that the Pentagon aims to (1) legitimize major investments in the cyber domain to a domestic audience, (2) undermine the enemy’s trust in his own IT-infrastructure, and command and control systems, (3) signal “cyber strength” to third parties, and (4) establish norms regarding how to use cyber weapons in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.

KEYWORDS:

• Cyberattack
• ISIS
• US Cyber Command
• deterrence

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the two anonymous reviewers and Peter Viggo Jakobsen for excellent comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Jeppe Teglskov Jacobsen is a PhD candidate at the Danish Institute for International Studies and the Center for War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark. His primary research focus is U.S. cyber armament, its causes and consequences for international security. Previously, he worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark as a coordinator of Denmark's cyber diplomacy in EU and NATO.

Jens Ringsmose, PhD, is the director of the Institute for Military Operations and the vice-dean for research at the Royal Danish Defence College. He is also Professor II at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy. His main research areas include NATO and contemporary armed conflict. He has published in journals like Survival, International Politics, Contemporary Security Policy, European Security, Journal of Transatlantic Studies, Global Affairs and Cooperation and Conflict.

Notes

1 Interviews with senior US officials, March 2017.