On 6 December 2017 Piret Pernik gave a presentation “Cyberspace as a domain of operations” at the Programme on Cyber Security Studies (PCSS) in the German Marshall Centre for Security Studies.
She described the differences between kinetic and cyber weapons, and discussed the uniqueness of cyberspace. She presented challenges related to military planning and execution of operations, including the uncertainty of cyber effects, mission assurance aspects, and conceptual problems. Piret concluded that many countries are merging cyber capabilities with other military capabilities. Piret also lead every day one of the seminar groups where course participants discussed cyber security issues.
Founded in 2014, the three-week PCSS helps participants appreciate the nature and magnitude of today’s cyber threats and develops a common understanding of the best practices and current initiatives within the public and private sectors. Almost 100 participant from more than 50 countries participated at the programme. PCSS is a non-technical, policy focused programme that teaches senior key leaders how to best make informed decisions on cyber policy, strategy and planning within the framework of whole-of-government cooperation and approaches. The Marshall Centre was designated in 2014 by Department of Defence as a Centre of Excellence for Transnational Security Studies, due to its cybersecurity program, as well as its courses on countering terrorism and organized crime.
More information on the programme: http://www.marshallcenter.org/mcpublicweb/en/nav-main-wwd-res-courses-pcss-en.html