Defense More Effective Than Offense in Curbing Nation State Threat Actors

The effectiveness of offensive capabilities in deterring nation state actors was discussed by a panel during the recent ‘RSAC 365 Innovation Showcase: Cyber Deterrence’ webinar.

Chair of the session, Jonathan Luff, co-founder at Cylon, observed that now is the ideal time to be asking if and when offensive strikes should be used following the Russian state-backed SolarWinds attacks at the end of last year, as well as the inauguration of newly-elected President Joe Biden this week. Luff noted: “The new administration has already made clear it intends to make cyber a huge priority.”

Ciaran Martin, former CEO at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in the UK, began by arguing that while offensive cyber-actions can be useful against certain types of enemies, they will not deter incidents like SolarWinds. He highlighted the UK’s successful cyber-strikes against the Islamic State back in 2018, which hindered its operations and made it harder for it to radicalize people online. However, he does not believe it would have such a positive effect in preventing c ..

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