{"id":22716,"date":"2020-03-06T19:13:41","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T19:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:07:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:07:44","slug":"whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a coordinated show of force last month, the State Department and the Department of Defense joined <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifthdomain.com\/international\/2020\/02\/21\/why-the-us-chose-to-name-and-shame-russia-over-cyberattacks\/\" target=_blank>more than 20 other nations in attributing and condemning<\/a> a 2019 cyberattack on the country of Georgia to Russia\u2019s military intelligence wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The move was part of a broader \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifthdomain.com\/civilian\/2020\/02\/27\/whats-next-for-nation-state-collaboration-in-cyberspace\/\" target=_blank>name and shame<\/a>\u201d strategy aimed at slowing cyberattacks from foreign adversaries, part of a deterrence policy that also includes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifthdomain.com\/civilian\/2019\/09\/30\/heres-who-got-hit-with-new-election-interference-sanctions\/\" target=_blank>indictments and sanctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But during the one of the cybersecurity community\u2019s biggest trade shows, just days after the State Department announcement, U.S. policymakers repeatedly acknowledged their strategies for discouraging state-backed cyberattacks aren\u2019t working. And, in that vacuum, what\u2019s re-emerging is a debate over what the federal government should do now \u2014 especially given the expanding threat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifthdomain.com\/civilian\/2019\/10\/04\/iran-backed-hackers-targeted-2020-presidential-campaign-says-microsoft\/\" target=_blank>several nation-state actors<\/a> pose to the 2020 presidential election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While some officials hope sanctions and indictments will eventually force hackers to think twice before attacking American networks, other experts suggested that the federal government should lower the bar for a military strike in response to a digital attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe should be very explicit about how low the threshold is for a kinetic response to an attack on our infrastructure,\u201d said Tom Corcoran, a former senior staffer on the House and Senate intelligence oversight committees from 2001 to 2014 and the current head of cybersecurity at Farmers Insurance Group. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t necessarily need to cause a loss of life or even a significant economic impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2019\/11\/11\/two-years-in-how-has-a-new-strategy-changed-cyber-operations\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/NSA.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Two years in, how has a new strategy changed cyber operations?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">This is the story of how, in two short years, a new cybersecurity strategy has forced the national security community to rethink cyber operations and how &quot;persistent engagment&quot; will work.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some current officials are more optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe think that the diplomatic aspect of the public attribution and public statements may not work today \u2026 but it is setting the expectation, operationalizing this framework that we\u2019ve all agreed to and will have an effect over time,\u201d said Liesyl Franz, senior policy adviser in the Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues at the U.S. Department of State. She was referring to a framework agreed to at the United Nations about responsible state behavior in cyberspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She added, \u201cwhat\u2019s the next step? Well, at some point we\u2019ll figure out how to impose additional types of consequences. Sanctions are one tool that we\u2019ve used, indictments are another, but what are other ones that we can do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>The threshold for armed response<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The outstanding problem is that cyberactivity falls below what experts call \u201cthe threshold of armed conflict.\u201d One example is the 2014 hack of Sony by the North Koreans that caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to the company. The Obama administration responded with sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThink about it this way, if the North Koreans had sunk a cruise liner, just like an empty cruise liner that was coming from a shipyard back to its home port, but they had sunk a $200 million cruise liner, what would our reaction have been? That would have been an act of war,\u201d retired Adm. James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, said in an interview with Fifth Domain. \u201cWe&#8217;d be literally launching B-1 bombers immediately to North Korea. Yet because it was a cyberattack, somehow it&#8217;s just a hack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In another example, Stewart Baker, former general counsel for the NSA, suggested that if Iran were to launch distributed denial of service attacks on U.S. banks, a preferred method of attack by their hackers, the United States could bomb an Iranian oil platform, but provide 24 hours of advanced warning to allow the Iranian government to get workers to safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Policymakers are careful in responding to this argument. The State Department\u2019s Franz said it is critical governments operate with transparency and warn others that specific types of attacks would lead to an aggressive response. In addition, the response must be proportionate, must not escalate the conflict and must not cause irreversible damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSomething that causes pain that doesn\u2019t \u2026 [leave] the country in the doghouse forever,\u201d Franz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One such example came from Timo Koster, ambassador at large for the Netherlands, who suggested that in response to Russia\u2019s 2014 invasion of Crimea, the international community could have responded by moving the World Cup from Russia, which the country hosted in 2018. That response would have a detrimental economic impact, but not cross a threshold of war. Without such consequences, current behavior will continue, experts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nations hack \u201cbecause they can,\u201d Koster said. \u201cVery simple. It\u2019s an easy way to get what you want, assert yourself, and it\u2019s something you can probably get away with most of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Today\u2019s deterrence strategy<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While U.S. officials said their strategies may not appear to be working in the short term, the long game is to establish norms of acceptable behavior in cyberspace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To this end, the Department of Justice has indicted malicious foreign operators. For example, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted dozens of Russians for their role in cyber operations relating to the 2016 election. More recently, the Justice Department indicted Chinese hackers allegedly behind the Equifax breach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The shortfall of this strategy is that it\u2019s unlikely the United States ever gets those actors in a U.S. court \u2014 a reality U.S. officials recognize.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re aware of the fact that in many of those cases, we may not have the opportunity to arrest the individual &#8230; charging a case is reactive, it\u2019s good to hold individual actors accountable,\u201d said Adam Hickey, deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department\u2019s national security division. \u201cBut that alone is not sufficient.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead, Hickey said the Justice Department wants to win court orders that would allow officials to seize infrastructure as a way to disrupt activities or to gather evidence in an effort to help the State Department and Defense Department build out cases to present to the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Though the Justice Department officials recognize they likely won\u2019t see the criminals in court, officials hope they may be able to change individual hackers\u2019 minds from taking on nefarious work in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI suspect that we&#8217;re maybe changing the thought calculus of even the workforce\u201d of foreign adversaries\u2019 hackers, said Steven Kelly, chief of cyber policy at the FBI\u2019s cyber division. \u201cWhere do I want to work? Do I want to work for an organization, and I&#8217;ll get caught and named the next thing you know, I can&#8217;t travel to Europe on vacation because I might get arrested?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is a new space where everyone in the ecosystem is making decisions about how they want to participate in it and maybe, maybe they don&#8217;t want to be working for an organization that&#8217;s going to be causing them personal reputational harm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Franz said the United States will continue attribution with its foreign partners because the support of foreign governments is a \u201cforce multiplier\u201d and that the strategy will work over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf we can have 20 and 30 countries coming out with us, to join us in a statement of condemnation or \u2026 themselves bring consequences, pariah states will start to become more and more isolated,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Deterrence suggestions on the horizon<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a March 11 report, the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifthdomain.com\/show-reporters\/rsa\/2020\/02\/26\/how-the-executive-branch-shaped-the-cyber-solarium-commission\/\" target=_blank> Cyberspace Solarium Commission<\/a>, a group of government and non-government cyber experts, is expected lay out a \u201clayered deterrence\u201d approach, according to Chris Inglis, a commissioner and former deputy director of the NSA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first step is to set expectations for nations\u2019 behavior by working across government agencies, the private sector and allies, the report is expected to say. Second, the federal government needs to strengthen its digital infrastructure, including people and the supply chain, and define the roles and responsibilities to better defend itself. Third, leaders must be willing to impose a cost on bad actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf you haven\u2019t actually shaped expectations, if you haven\u2019t made the kind of digital infrastructure defensible, then you have no business disrupting because you live in a glass house, and that\u2019s going to come quickly back to create chaos, disorder, indiscipline for your own side,\u201d Inglis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several experts agreed with Inglis\u2019 point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe may have the biggest rocks; we also have the glassiest houses,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. officials acknowledge that their current deterrence strategy isn&#8217;t working. With several nation-state presenting threats to the 2020 election, how should deterrence policy change?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":32165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"8":{"categories":[],"primary_category":""}}},"categories":[106,29,32,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3252],"class_list":["post-22716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-newsletters","category-smr"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"RVRPVLFOGNCEBBIUW77BS6GFRI","arc_canonical_url":"\/show-reporters\/rsa\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks - C4ISRNet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U.S. officials acknowledge that their current deterrence strategy isn&#039;t working. With several nation-state presenting threats to the 2020 election, how should deterrence policy change?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. officials acknowledge that their current deterrence strategy isn&#039;t working. With several nation-state presenting threats to the 2020 election, how should deterrence policy change?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"C4ISRNet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-03-06T19:13:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T18:07:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Eversden\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Eversden\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-03-06T19:13:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T18:07:44+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1348,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily Brief\",\n\t                \"Home\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Special Multimedia Report\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks - C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2020-03-06T19:13:41+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T18:07:44+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"U.S. officials acknowledge that their current deterrence strategy isn't working. With several nation-state presenting threats to the 2020 election, how should deterrence policy change?\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/smr\\\/2020\\\/03\\\/06\\\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Daily Brief\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/newsletters\\\/daily-brief\\\/\",\n\t                    \"ad_zone\": \"daily-brief\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 3,\n\t                    \"name\": \"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Media for the Intelligence-Age Military | C4ISRNET\",\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#organization\",\n\t            \"name\": \"C4ISRNet\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/\",\n\t            \"logo\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"C4ISRNet\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t            }\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t            \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/c4isrnet\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks - C4ISRNet","description":"U.S. officials acknowledge that their current deterrence strategy isn't working. With several nation-state presenting threats to the 2020 election, how should deterrence policy change?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks","og_description":"U.S. officials acknowledge that their current deterrence strategy isn't working. With several nation-state presenting threats to the 2020 election, how should deterrence policy change?","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/","og_site_name":"C4ISRNet","article_published_time":"2020-03-06T19:13:41+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T18:07:44+00:00","author":"Andrew Eversden","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Andrew Eversden","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks","datePublished":"2020-03-06T19:13:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T18:07:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/"},"wordCount":1348,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Daily Brief","Home","Newsletters","Special Multimedia Report"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/","name":"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks - C4ISRNet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2020-03-06T19:13:41+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T18:07:44+00:00","description":"U.S. officials acknowledge that their current deterrence strategy isn't working. With several nation-state presenting threats to the 2020 election, how should deterrence policy change?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/smr\/2020\/03\/06\/whats-the-next-step-us-officials-are-rethinking-how-to-dissuade-cyberattacks\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Daily Brief","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/newsletters\/daily-brief\/","ad_zone":"daily-brief"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"\u2018What\u2019s the next step?\u2019: US officials are rethinking how to dissuade cyberattacks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","name":"C4ISRNet","description":"Media for the Intelligence-Age Military | C4ISRNET","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#organization","name":"C4ISRNet","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/c4isrnet-logo-white.png","caption":"C4ISRNet"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GlobeCyberAttacks.jpg.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"C4ISRNet","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22716"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43611,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22716\/revisions\/43611"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22716"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=22716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}