SOLVING THE CYBER SITUATION.

• Author: Fischer, Raymond L.
• Position: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Among the world's leading specialists on security, cyberspace, and terrorism, Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake have written The Fifth Domain: Defending Our Country, Our Companies, and Ourselves in the Age of Cyber Threats, a riveting, agenda-setting account of how the U.S. government, the private sector, and citizens can fend off cyber threats.

Under Pres. Bill Clinton and Pres. George W. Bush, Clarke served as White House counterterrorism coordinator; more recently, he has served the White House as the first official in charge of U.S. cybersecurity policy. Clarke has authored eight books, including Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror, and he hosts the podcast "Future State."

Knake, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and senior research scientist at Northeastern University, served the Obama White House as director for Cybersecurity Policy at the National Security Council. With Clarke, he coauthored The New York Times bestseller Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It.

The fifth domain, the Pentagon's term for cyberspace, defines a realm in which tyrants, hackers, and criminals attempt to turn cyberspace into a "war zone." In contrast to conventional domains of conflict--land, sea, air, and space--cyberspace is man-made and subject to unique threats beyond traditional national security approaches. Although Washington programs and budgets indicate cyber policy is mired in a "war-fighting mentality," the authors explore ways to foster cyber peace in the diverse fields of ecology, public health, emergency health, and psychology--fields in which they found a common need for resilience.

Beginning in 2016, a pattern of malicious cyber activity has indicated a "low-grade, simmering conflict the U.S. has with Russia, China, and Iran." The current mindset for gaining the advantage in cyber war comes from the military: "offensive advantage or offensive preference." For more than two decades, the strategy of offensive power has pervaded fields of computer science and information technology, as almost everything has become dependent on computer networks. Currently, in a crisis situation of possible conventional warfare, an inclination "to begin with a cyber attack is very likely."

At any time, a cyber attack could disable technology around the world. For instance, on June 27, 2017, Russian military intelligence (GRU) launched a cyber attack which wiped all software in infected areas...