The advantage will always be the attacker’s in cyberwar, so the best possible defense will have to suffice in place of a perfect defense. Five areas of focus can reduce vulnerability in what is essentially the irreversible runaway train of technology: education and training, a clear chain of custody for all networks at all facilities, unambiguous processes and procedures along with explicit guidance on correct behavior in cyberspace operations, more energetic development of advanced ways to manage access to networks and their information, and a formal “cyberspace mishap” investigation apparatus. These steps must not be theory alone; their military implementation is a commander’s responsibility. Lacking that support for all five core areas, a culture of cyberspace accountability will remain elusive.

Commanders must grasp the role of cyberspace in national security, but that is a challenge without a ready way to visualize it. There is hope insofar as we can use extant ideas and language to conceptualize and teach cyberspace operations. That transition is only possible by first developing an underpinning theory and “narrative,” with the theory expressing the omnipresence of cyberspace and its interface with the government and civilian sectors. Additionally it must span the range from national security policy to minute technical details while inculcating the tensions caused by its own relentless evolution. The second necessity is overcoming rivalries and committing sufficient resources to continuously man, equip, and train the cyberspace force and integrate it with the other domains

A seemingly incomprehensible set of events is occurring as I write this column: the People’s Republic of China is asserting its desire to extend an air defense zone in the Pacific, the Syrian crisis continues unabated, violence in nations transitioning from one form of government to another is the norm from Iraq to Egypt to Libya, Iran seems to be yielding to international pressure to control its nuclear ambitions, Venezuela seems poised for an economic collapse, bombings and other violence in Pakistan continue, and the Russian Federation has annexed Crimea triggering a possible response from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). This particular situation seems to have been taken from a script of an early post–Cold War NATO exercise.