jp3_12r
jp3_12r
jp3_12r
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CHAPTER I<br />
INTRODUCTION<br />
“Cyberspace and its associated technologies offer unprecedented opportunities to<br />
the US and are vital to our Nation’s security, and by extension, to all aspects of<br />
military operations.”<br />
1. Introduction<br />
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, 2011<br />
a. This publication provides fundamental constructs and guidance to assist joint force<br />
commanders (JFCs), their staffs, and supporting and subordinate commanders in the<br />
planning, execution, and assessment of cyberspace operations (CO). CO are the employment<br />
of cyberspace capabilities where the primary purpose is to achieve objectives in or through<br />
cyberspace.<br />
b. This publication discusses military operations in and through cyberspace; explains<br />
the Joint Staff (JS), combatant command (CCMD), United States Strategic Command<br />
(USSTRATCOM), United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), functional and<br />
Service component relationships and responsibilities; and establishes a framework for the<br />
employment of cyberspace forces and capabilities.<br />
c. Most aspects of joint operations rely in part on cyberspace, the global domain within<br />
the information environment consisting of the interdependent network of information<br />
technology (IT) infrastructures and resident data, including the Internet, telecommunications<br />
networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers. Developments in<br />
cyberspace provide the means for the US military, its allies, and partner nations to gain and<br />
maintain a strategic, continuing advantage in the operational environment (OE), and can be<br />
leveraged to ensure the nation’s economic and physical security. Cyberspace reaches across<br />
geographic and geopolitical boundaries, much of it residing outside of US control, and is<br />
integrated with the operation of critical infrastructures, as well as the conduct of commerce,<br />
governance, and national security. Access to the Internet provides adversaries the capability<br />
to compromise the integrity of US critical infrastructures in direct and indirect ways. These<br />
characteristics and conditions present a paradox within cyberspace: the prosperity and<br />
security of our nation have been significantly enhanced by our use of cyberspace, yet these<br />
same developments have led to increased vulnerabilities and a critical dependence on<br />
cyberspace, for the US in general and the joint force in particular.<br />
d. While CO can produce stand-alone tactical, operational, and strategic effects and<br />
achieve objectives, they must be integrated with the employment of the JFC’s other<br />
capabilities to create synergistic effects in support of the JFC’s plan.<br />
e. CO takes place in a complex environment: large parts of cyberspace are not under<br />
the any nations’ control; the array of state and non-state actors is extremely broad; the costs<br />
of entry are low; and technology proliferates rapidly and often unpredictably. Conversely,<br />
they should also be prepared to conduct operations under degraded cyberspace conditions.<br />
I-1