Introduction: The Cyber Landscape

Abstract

The opening chapter introduces the key debates in the sometimes confused realm of cyber security and cyber warfare, It identifies that a normative narrative is developing that the threat of major cyber warfare is a real and present danger. At the same time, a number of scholars cast doubt on the level and likelihood of the threat, not least because of legal ambiguities over what constitutes an act of war. Debate is complicated by the heavy involvement of military security and commercial actors in the discussion. An argument is presented that, while cyber related threats are present in and around modern warfare, the more catastrophic risks of attack may be unlikely at the present time.