Every War Is a Cyber War—Starting With ISIS

David Fidler

Security, Cyberspace

Welcome to the digital fog of war.

At the end of February, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter told a House subcommittee that U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) is conducting offensive operations against the Islamic State. This statement went viral. “Make no mistake,” Peter Singer of New America said, “this is a very big deal.” It signals a shift in the fight against the Islamic State and marks the first time the United States has acknowledged undertaking cyberattacks during armed conflict. CYBERCOM’s campaign makes real what was anticipated—the integration of offensive cyber capabilities in strategies and tactics for waging war.

Using Cyberattacks Against the Islamic State

CYBERCOM’s attacks have two targets: the Islamic State’s use of social media and its use of cyber means to engage in command, control and communications in military operations. In terms of social media, the White House instructed the Department of Defense to use CYBERCOM’s capabilities against the Islamic State after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino again highlighted how the Islamic State exploits social media to radicalize and recruit. Government and private-sector efforts to combat these activities, such as the Department of State’s counter-messaging campaigns, were not working—and foreign fighters continued to join the Islamic State.