ETH Evening Talks: Book Launch: 'No Shortcuts: Why States Struggle to Develop a Military Cyber-Force'

On Wednesday, 22 June 2022, the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich hosted an ETH Evening Talk for the book launch of CSS’ Max Smeets external page book:

'No Shortcuts: Why States Struggle to Develop a Military Cyber-Force'.

Over the past decade, numerous states have declared cyberspace as a new domain of warfare, sought to develop a military cyber strategy and establish a cyber command. These developments have led to much policy talk and concern about the future of warfare as well as the digital vulnerability of society. No Shortcuts provides a level-headed view of where we are in the militarization of cyberspace. In this book, Max Smeets bridges the divide between technology and policy to assess the necessary building blocks for states to develop a military cyber capacity. Smeets argues that for many states, the barriers to entry into conflict in cyberspace are currently too high. Accompanied by a wide range of empirical examples, Smeets shows why governments abilities to develop military cyber capabilities might change over time and explains the limits of capability transfer by states and private actors.

Max Smeets is a Senior Researcher at the CSS and Director of the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative.

Myriam Dunn Cavelty, Senior Lecturer for Security Studies and Deputy for Research and Teaching at the CSS, moderated the discussion.

The ETH Evening Talk was held in English.