Digital Front Lines

Digital
Front Lines

A sharpened focus on the risks of, and responses to, hybrid warfare

The war in Ukraine has brought hybrid warfare to the fore and coincided with a steady uptick in cyber operations, including illegal attacks against civilians and critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, the expanding use of artificial intelligence (AI) is shifting the balance of power between attackers and defenders in cyberspace, with far-reaching implications.

Recognizing the need to prepare for hybrid warfare, FP Analytics produced Digital Front Lines in 2023 with support from Microsoft. Part IV of the series, launching alongside the NATO summit and 75th anniversary of the alliance, examines the challenges and highlights opportunities to develop effective cyber deterrence strategies accounting for the role of AI. New research from FPA and commentaries from leading experts and decisionmakers explore avenues to deter malicious cyber operations through denial and punishment, advance multisectoral collaboration, and harness the potential benefits of AI while mitigating destructive impacts.

 

PART IV

An FP ANALYTICS Issue Brief

Defend, Attribute, Punish

Deterring Cyber Warfare in the Age of AI. Read more

 


AI Offers New Capabilities to Both Attackers and Defenders in Cyberspace


Achieving Holistic Cyber Resilience Still Depends on the Fundamentals


Imposting Meaningful Consequences on Cyber Attackers Requires Developing Proportional Retaliation Options


Looking Ahead: Effective Cyber Resilience in the Age of AI

 

2023 REPORT

Digital Front Lines is a multimedia report consisting of a series of issue briefs produced by FP Analytics with support from Microsoft and accompanied by expert contributions from leaders across government, multilateral institutions, civil society, academia, and industry. By 2023, it had become clear that the scale and scope of cyber operations related to the war in Ukraine were unparalleled and that they marked a new era of hybrid warfare presenting myriad challenges for the prevention and resolution of conflicts globally. Digital Front Lines seeks to deepen understanding of hybrid warfare and to foster coordinated, effective responses across government, industry, and civil society, through independent research and thought leadership.

Illustration by BRIAN STAUFFER

PART I

Cyber Operations in Warfare – Ukraine and Beyond

Part I explores the impacts of cyber operations, in Ukraine and beyond, and the challenges they present to the international system, including attribution of, and response to, cyberattacks and the alignment of cyber and kinetic warfare strategies.

An FP ANALYTICS Issue Brief


PART II

Multistakeholder Responses in Ukraine and Lessons Learned

Part II distills the lessons learned from multistakeholder responses to the ongoing war in Ukraine, examining the implications of cyber operations for international humanitarian law and diplomacy and highlighting the role of the tech community to track and expose information operations.


PART III

Preparing for Future Hybrid Wars

Part III looks ahead to future hybrid wars and explores opportunities for partnership across government, industry, and civil society to secure cyberspace, safeguard nuclear and space assets from cyber threats, and ensure accountability for state and nonstate cyberattacks against civilians and critical infrastructure.

CONTRIBUTORS

Expert Insights

In the age of hybrid warfare, the impacts of cyber operations are felt across civil and military domains, and beyond. Experts from private industry, government, NGOs, multilateral institutions and more share their perspectives on a range of cybersecurity issues, identifying challenges to international peace and security, and opportunities for collaboration.

David Agranovich

Director of Threat Disruption at Meta

Tom Burt

Corporate Vice President of Customer Security and Trust at Microsoft

Amb. Sorin Ducaru

Director of the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen)

Stéphane Duguin

CEO of the CyberPeace Institute

Dr. Cordula Droege

Chief Legal Officer and Head of the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross

Dr. Comfort Ero

President and CEO of the International Crisis Group

Mykhailo Fedorov

Vice Prime Minister, Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technologies of Ukraine

Annie Fixler

Director, Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, FDD

Lindsay Freeman

Director of Technology, Law, and Policy, Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law

Chris Inglis

Former U.S. National Cyber Director

Amb. Bonnie Jenkins

Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U.S. Department of State.

Karim A.A. Khan KC

Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court

Dr. Peter Maurer

President of the Basel Institute on Governance and former President of the ICRC

Shelley McKinley

Chief Legal Officer of GitHub

Peter Micek

General Counsel and U.N. Advocacy Manager at Access Now

Izumi Nakamitsu

U.N. Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs

Anne Neuberger

Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technologies, United States

James Paterson

Australian Senator and Shadow Minister for Cyber Security

Hanno Pevkur

Estonian Minister of Defense

Brad Smith

Vice Chair and President, Microsoft

Clint Watts

General Manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center