Navigating challenging terrain surrounding DoD response to homeland attacks on critical infrastructure: Case studies of prior incidents utilizing an extended taxonomy of cyber harms

Abstract

The complexity of DoD response to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure entities is a relatively understudied area, particularly when considering attacks that fall within the nebulous area of response, the cyber grey zone. Reliance on critical infrastructure by private, public, and defense sectors establishes the need for proactive research in this context, particularly learning from prior incidents to inform and plan for future events and responses. This research utilizes an extended taxonomy to categorize harms and thresholds related to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure to understand integrated (rather than divisive) approaches that utilize Department of Defense capabilities. The researchers extend a taxonomy of cyber harms to provide a system of categorization that can assist with determining when a threshold, or cyber red line, is surpassed and provide a starting point to establish future considerations under which an engagement by the Department of Defense is appropriate.