Cyber Operations: A Critical Analysis of Cyber Manoeuvre Principles

This report critically analyzes cyber operations, focusing on cyber manoeuvre principles in the context of modern warfare and the information environment. It examines the application of these principles in both offensive and defensive strategies, considering the use of cloud resources and the evolving landscape of information security. The report evaluates the suitability of various information security models for underpinning offensive and defensive operations, highlighting the importance of adapting to the changing threat landscape. It explores how offensive strategies can be implemented to counter attacks, gather intelligence, and disrupt attackers' operations, while also emphasizing the significance of defensive measures such as perimeter defense, moving target defense, deceptive defense, and counterattacks. The analysis concludes that cyber manoeuvre principles are crucial for warfighting in cyberspace, enabling the positioning and defense or attack of information resources in a dynamic environment.

Running head: CYBER OPERATION
Cyber Operations
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction:...............................................................................................................................2
Critical analysis of Cyber Manoeuvre Principles:.....................................................................2
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................5
References:.................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction:
The manoeuvre warfare is a typical type of military strategy. This is a specific type of
strategy that attempts to defeat the enemies incapacitating their process of decision making
(Thompson 2016). The process of the decision making of the enemies is incapacitated by
shock and disruption.
In this paper a critique will be given on the paper of the “Deception and Manoeuvre
Warfare utilising Cloud Resources.” While the critique will be given on this paper also, how
the cyber manoeuvre principles can underpin the offensive and defensive operation in the
modern information environment.
Critical analysis of Cyber Manoeuvre Principles:
In the modern time of the 21st century there is various types of information security
model is available in the market. Though there are various types of advanced information
security model is available in the market it is assessed that most of them are unsuitable for
underpin offensive and defensive operations together in the modern information environment
(VIDALIS and Angelopoulou 2013). This article provide a significance value to the raised
concern by analysing whether cyber manoeuvre principles can underpin the offensive and
defensive operations in the modern information environment or not and if it is able to analyse
the principle then how.
According to the authors it clear that various types of important factors which must be
considered when a computer defence strategy is developed as most of these strategies
involves some risks. However, it’s up to the developers that how they will mitigate those
risks and will dictate it as a successful strategy. As per the authors when the developers or the
security professionals deals with the civilian cyberspace the concern of security has always
remained defensive (VIDALIS and Angelopoulou 2013). It is the practice of protecting

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someone’s data from attacks in an information security model but the authors are arguing that
it is the time for implementing some of the offensive strategies that can be adapted in real
world scenarios when confronted an attack. Following the military institutions worldwide the
information security also needs to go offensive and counter the threats (VIDALIS and
Angelopoulou 2013.). The degree of offensiveness must be within boundaries of law.
Here the authors have presented and important topic of that the information security
systems should take some offensive approach to protect the data like practice of the
militaries. Actually this type of offensive strategy can be very much beneficial for the
organizations as the offensive strategies are focused on seeking out some perpetrators and
attempts to disrupt the operations of the attackers (Pearlson, Saunders and Galletta 2016). By
some offensive approaches organizations can frustrate the attackers, gather proper
information about them and carefully strike back them without taking any type of illegal
actions. The offensive strategies not only disturbs and create challenge for the attacker, but
also it protects the important data defensively. Thus it can be stated that the approaches of the
authors for the Information Security is actually good. This proposed technique of the authors
are highly praised because it has been found that the offensive strategies has reduced the
number of attacks in the further situations compared with the organizations which only
implemented the defensive strategies.
The statement and the thoughts of the authors are actually logical in this article
because the implemented cyber manoeuvre principles can underpin the offensive and the
defensive operation in the modern information environment.
In the case of the offensive type of operations the implemented cloud technology is
able to provide on demand rapid service of elasticity while using a broad network access
which is independent from the locations (Kamhoua et al. 2015). Thus by gaining this

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elasticity any individual is able to transparently, dynamically and cost-effectively can change
the layout of the computing infrastructure according to the daily needs. Thus when this is
merged with principles of cyber manoeuvre warfare it is appreciated that the cloud
technologies truly and really can enable the asymmetric warfare. Also, as the cloud service
offered as a measured service decision makers can easily perform an assessment during and
after when the operation ends which will assists to evaluate impact of their actions (VIDALIS
and Angelopoulou 2013.). Thus the principle of the cyber manoeuvre is able to underpin the
offensive operations in modern information environment.
The cyber manoeuvre principles can also underpins the defensive operations. The
main principles of the defensive cyber manoeuvre are the perimeter defence and defence in
depth, moving target defence, deceptive defence and the counter attack (Wood 2018). The
perimeter defence is the concept where organizations only protects their perimeter of the
network. For securing the network perimeter instruction detection system, firewall and other
systems are used but the internal system remains undefended. The next moving target defence
uses some sort of strategy which constantly shifts some certain aspects of the system which is
targeted but does not implements something to protect the resources or prevent the attack. In
this case it becomes for the attacker to identify the actual target. The principle of the
deceptive defence is the strategy of luring the attacker (Applegate 2012). In such of case, the
attacker are lured to do a demo attack on the organization which revels the methodology of
the attack. Thus it helps the defender in attribution. The last concept of the defensive
manoeuvre is the counter attack. The process of the counter attack is very much straight
forward. The process of the counter attack provides necessary things which are important for
restoring critical operations at very low cost (VIDALIS and Angelopoulou 2013.). In the
cases where the attribution is already achieved the principle of the counter attack will help the
defender to stall the progressive attack and regain the total initiative. Thus this principle of

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the cyber manoeuvre is able to underpin the defensive operations in modern information
environments.
Conclusion:
From the critical discussion of the article it can be concluded that the authors of the
articles has stated some valuable information regards the principle of the cyber manoeuvre.
From the analysis it has been understood that the principles of the cyber manoeuvre is very
much important in the warfighting principles in cyberspace. In the perspective cyberspace the
manoeuvre is used to position and force to defend or attack the information resources. From
the critique it has been also understood that principles of the cyber manoeuvre is able to
underpin the defensive and the offensive operation in the perspective of the modern
information environment.

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References:
Applegate, S.D., 2012, June. The principle of maneuver in cyber operations. In Cyber
Conflict (CYCON), 2012 4th International Conference on (pp. 1-13). IEEE.
Kamhoua, C., Martin, A., Tosh, D.K., Kwiat, K.A., Heitzenrater, C. and Sengupta, S., 2015,
November. Cyber-threats information sharing in cloud computing: A game theoretic
approach. In Cyber Security and Cloud Computing (CSCloud), 2015 IEEE 2nd International
Conference on (pp. 382-389). IEEE.
Pearlson, K.E., Saunders, C.S. and Galletta, D.F., 2016. Managing and Using Information
Systems, Binder Ready Version: A Strategic Approach. John Wiley & Sons.
Thompson, M., 2016. Military aspects of cyber warfare. United Service, 67(3), p.27.
VIDALIS, S. and Angelopoulou, O., 2013. Deception and Manoeuvre Warfare Utilising
Cloud Resources. Information Security Journal: A Global Perspective.
Wood, D.G., 2018. The Application of Warden’s Concentric Ring Theory to Applegate’s
Offensive Cyber Manoeuvre Strategy in Modern Conflicts. In Security by Design (pp. 221-
252). Springer, Cham.