On Dec. 28th, 2011, Adam Segal wrote a very interesting article for the Atlantic on Chinese strategic thinking for offensive cyber operations and network defense. The Atlantic article relied on a China Defense Daily article, a PLA publication. The Atlantic relayed some of the main points of the China Defense Daily article:
- The Chinese view their civilian and military networks as interconnected, and believe that "military units, social organizations, and even individuals will all possibly become combat forces during a cyber war." This speaks to a "whole society" approach that could potentially mobilize anyone with cyber-experience to contribute during a conflict.
- To facilitate this whole society approach, the PLA should create a vertical command system that reaches into Chinese society.
- There should be "specialized troops within industrial sectors."
- The PLA should create a cyber reserves and people's militias to enable the whole society approach.
There's a few more points in the article, mostly dealing with offensive cyber weapon R/D and proposed military hierarchy, so check it out. I was more interested in the "whole society" approach, and find it fascinating. The article notes that such an approach would require massive social mobilization, and it's unclear if even the Chinese government has that sort of social control. Nevertheless, a very interesting idea.
The rest of the article can be found here.
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