October 04, 2017
5 Ways America Can Defend Itself from 'Nonphysical' Attacks
Earlier this month it was revealed that Russian-linked Facebook accounts purchased more than $100,000 in divisive political advertisements on the social network during the 2016 election. Combined with Wikileaks coordination on other Russian meddling, the campaign revealed the fragility of our exposed democratic machinery in the information age. We can safely predict that it will not be the last time foreign actors attempt to disrupt American politics, and that the Russians will not be the only ones who try.
At the same time that foreign influence threatens the very fabric of our democracy, the integrity of American commercial institutions are also under siege. Vast breaches of sensitive data have become almost routine, exposing compromising information to bad actors motivated either by politics or mere profit. The scope and scale of these challenges are difficult to fathom, but collectively they comprise forms of irregular warfare that exploit the vulnerabilities of an open society and a free market, threatening the legitimacy of both. The United States needs a multidimensional counter-offensive to brush back this new wave of attacks on American institutions.
Read the full op-ed in The National Interest.
More from CNAS
-
Investing in Great-Power Competition
Reports
Executive Summary This report asks whether the 2021 U.S. defense budget request is aligned with the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS) in selecting priority capability inves...
By Susanna V. Blume & Molly Parrish
-
Thomas Harker performing duties of DoD Comptroller
Video
Bob Hale, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, discusses how Thomas Harker will continue as Navy Comptroller while performing duties of the Under S...
By Robert F. Hale
-
In Myanmar, A Rare Glimmer of Hope for Indian Regional Policy
Commentary
In the barren, high altitude Himalayan region between China and India, a clash on June 15 left twenty Indian soldiers dead. Nationalists on both sides called for demonstration...
By Coby Goldberg
-
The U.S.-China confrontation is not another Cold War. It’s something new.
Commentary
With U.S.-China relations in free fall, the Trump administration’s chief arms control negotiator recently proclaimed that "we know how to win these races and we know how to sp...
By Richard Fontaine & Ely Ratner
