Cyber Warfighter

DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1002/jcaf.22143
Date01 March 2016
Published date01 March 2016
AuthorPeter O. Morrill
75
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com).
DOI 10.1002/jcaf.22143
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Cyber Warfighter
Peter O. Morrill
LET THE GAMES
BEGIN
By now, you
know of my love for
classic movies, and
today it is no dif-
ferent. In the cyber
warfighting space,
or fifth domain of
warfare, we see a
modern classic. In
the 1980s, we saw
a glimpse of what
a computer and a
smart operator could
do and the havoc it could cre-
ate in the movie War Games.
Matthew Broderick played a
young teenager who managed
to gain entrance into ballistic
missile control and nearly set
off a global nuclear conflict.
He did this quite by accident,
and today he would be labeled
an enemy combatant, never
to be seen again. His actions
would have labeled him a
terrorist, a threat to the free
world, and he would be kept
hidden in a dark hole for the
remainder of his life. This sin-
gle movie provided a glimpse
into the future—the power of
computing and what it could
do in the wrong hands.
THE END OF THE WORLD
ASWE KNOW IT
The world has changed
during these past decades, and
we think of things not only
locally but globally. Effects
may not be simple anymore but
catastrophic; timing is not in
days or months but in minutes
or seconds. Let us look at this
scenario. All weekend long, you
worked diligently on the 10Q
for filing on Monday morn-
ing. With all the fine details
reviewed and polished, you
knew that you did a good job
preparing the reports. After
catching the highlights from the
games on TV, you went to bed
still thinking about
the next day. 6 a.m.
It’s a dreary Monday
morning. You rise
from a restless sleep
and make your way
to the refrigerator
for a tall cold glass
of orange juice. You
noticed the light did
not come on when
you opened the door.
The power is out.
In days gone by, the
simple explanation
was that a car hit a
utility pole or something broke
down in your grid. Now, you
have to wonder if the power
is out due to an enemy state–
sponsored cyber-attack and
possible pretext of something
worse happening. In the age of
three-domain warfare (land,
air, sea), we had no such con-
cerns. We would just wait for
the power company to fix the
utility pole or replace parts at
the power distribution station
and deal with minor inconve-
nience. But today, people think
differently. The problem is not
just in your area but the whole
state or even the East Coast.
And it may have affected all
ways of life—transportation,
Cyber war has the same components to the
warfighter as in any other domain. The battle is
won and lost in the mind-set and willingness to
win. Though we are still in the frontier phase, this
should not stop us from seeking solutions. Tech-
nology is merely a tool; the mind is the weapon.
This veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps shares skill
sets that he learned while serving in the Corps.
He uses a lively approach to stimulate those
responsible for dynamic management leadership.
The key ideas come from the battlefields faced in
every life arena. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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