The deteriorating relations between the United States and Iran have been a catalyst for further integration between cyber operations and physical acts in the context of national defense. In the midst of mounting tensions, both countries have been stepping up offensive cyber campaigns directed at each other, thereby effectively using cyber war as a battlefield tool.
The Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, has acknowledged that this development “is kind of the thing that keeps me up at night.”
The offensive cyber campaigns carried out by the Department of Defense are in line with the department’s new strategy under which cyber weapons are recognized as military capabilities that may be used ‘to advance US interests’ and ‘defend forward’.
Read more: Cyber Warfare: US Military Admits Immediate Danger Is ‘Keeping Us Up At Night
