Cyber Operations and Gray Zones: Challenges for NATO
by
Oliver Fitton

The Gray Zone represents a space between peaceful state rivalries and war. Within this space actors have developed hybrid strategies to extend their influence. This concept of conflict is best illustrated by Russia’s actions in Eastern Ukraine in 2014. Gray Zone doctrine leverages ambiguity to create an environment in which adversaries are unable to make strategic decisions in a timely and confident manner. Cyber Operations, because of the attribution problem, lend themselves to this kind of conflict. This article explores the interactions between the Gray Zone and cyber operations and considers questions which NATO must address in order to adapt.

Previous Issue

The Fall 2020 issue of Connections: The Quarterly Journal presents a variety of security-related applications of the concept of resilience. Two articles address the relation to cybersecurity – one presenting a framework for assessing national cyber resilience, and the other the need to enhance the resilience of the armed forces to cyberat... Read More