2019-2020 Public Forum Topics . U.S. offensive cyber operations against North Korean military intelligence are significant. How America's Cyber Strategy Could Create an International Crisis. Column: Politics. This year, we are releasing ten Topic Areas, each with two Starter Resolutions.Please note that the Starter Resolutions are tentative proposals, which may be revised and/or replaced based on community responses, expert feedback, breaking news, and/or literature on the subject. Securing command of the commons in the face of increasing cyber operations by China and Russia requires a policy framework that accelerates cyber offense. Resolved: The benefits of the United States federal government’s use of offensive cyber operations outweigh the harms. The Strategic Value of Offensive Cyber Operations There is no single method to measure the strategic value of offensive cyber operations. Offensive cyberspace operations (OCO) are “intended to project power by the application of force in and through cyberspace. The rise in offensive cyber security will cause major shifts in traditional threat and protection strategies. The shift is happening now, as the markets grow, threats increase, players change, and we all are being affected. Offensive cyber operations … No amount of insight from those with knowledge of the command will be enough to assuage the concerns of those who feel such an organization […] This two-part series has attempted to clarify the international legal basis for U.S. offensive cyber operations in response to economic cyber intrusions. U.S. offensive cyber operations might deter Russia and other U.S. adversaries online, but we should consider the global consequences of escalating cyber conflict. A report from Microsoft has urged states to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of offensive operations, pointing out that the ultimate aim of rules guiding offensive action should be to reduce conflict between states. But reports that the government considered an offensive cyberattack as part of its response to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury on 4 March have brought the issue of whether and when offensive cyber operations would be justified under international law to the fore. Not only is this topic awful, it’s also impossible to debate because the civilian population has no way of knowing what U.S. offensive … Cyber threats and how the United States should prepare Michael E. O ... along with the use of offensive cyber instruments and other tools of foreign policy. Even before the U.S. Cyber Command stood up there was wide-ranging speculation about what the command would do, the authorities it would be granted, and the powers it would wield. First, it can refer to whether an offensive cyber operation can provide value in support of a national strategy.11 The assessment of value then is The US Must Stop its Offensive Cyber Operations Against the World. Strategic value can mean at least two different things. The U.S. vows to go on offense against cyber attackers. But experts say this is not a major change - it just applies conventional policy on conflict and espionage to the online world. The state of cyber actors across the globe mandates vigilant and capable defensive cyber activities both nationally and in active theaters of operations. This further narrows the types of offensive cyber operations that would be permissible responses to economic cyber intrusions. The Trump administration is using a new national cyber strategy, announced Sept. 20, to create fresh norms in cyberspace and increase the number of offensive operations. It’s no secret now that the US has been actively carrying out massive offensive operations in cyberspace for over a decade now. No amount of insight from those with knowledge of the command will be enough to assuage the concerns of those who feel such an organization […] It remains an open question whether they will also become lethal weapons of … What offensive cyber operations and what harm are you referring to? OCO will be authorized like offensive operations in the physical domains, via an execute order (EXORD).” The DoD document is fairly candid about the challenges and limitations of cyberspace operations.