Attribution, delayed attribution and covert cyber-attack. Under what conditions should the United States publicly acknowledge responsibility for cyber operations?
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Authors
McDade, Wylie
Subjects
Self-attribution
public acknowledgement
cyberattack
public acknowledgement
cyberattack
Advisors
Huntley, Wade
Denning, Dorothy E.
Date of Issue
2014-03
Date
Mar-14
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Self-attribution is a public declaration of responsibility for the conduct of an operation. It is distinguished from covert operations, where perpetrators provide no such acknowledgement and attempt to conceal their identities. Although self-attribution is always an option, this thesis examines legal and strategic reasons for a nation state to publically acknowledge its role in the conduct of a cyber-operation. The central result is that whereas neither international law nor national policy requires self-attribution, under certain strategic conditions it may be preferred.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Cyber Academic Group
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.