Virtually Massive: Understanding Mass and Combat Power in Cyber War

Abstract : The US Air Force defines mass as to concentrate the effects of combat power at the most advantageous place and time to achieve decisive results ; Air Force Doctrine Document (AFDD) 3-12 echoes this definition while noting that cyber forces [m]ust integrate and synchronize with other forces . But what does this mean for strategy in the cyber domain? Some have suggested that the concept of mass no longer applies in cyberspace, and that a handful of attackers could launch devastating attacks from anywhere in the world. Col Gregory Rattray, (USAF-Ret), in Strategic Warfare in Cyberspace discusses the support functions, such as network intelligence, targeting, and tool development, that can make cyber attacks more effective. This suggests another perspective on mass- one including not just the tooth of operators attacking targets, but also the tail required to put together a team capable of consistently launching successful attacks (since he suggests the analysts and programmers might need to significantly outnumber the people actually carrying out attacks)4. This is a significant difference, and an important question to resolve, but personnel issues are not the only way to understand mass in cyber war.