Third Annual Workshop on the State-of-the-Field of Cyber Conflict

On June 13th, the Cyber Conflict Studies Association and the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs co-hosted the third annual Workshop on the State-of-the-Field of Cyber Conflict.

The third SOTF workshop expanded on the themes of the 2016 and 2017 workshops and continued the work to understand and define the study of Cyber Conflict as a field of study.

The discussions at 2018 State of the Field Workshop were framed around the foundational questions of political behavior and it’s interaction with cyber.

There were three key discussion focal points:

A) The Nature of Cyber and Informational Power

B) The Nature of Cyber Conflict

C) Cyber, the State, and Society

The final discussion of the workshop inquired on sociology of cyber conflict and encouraged workshop participants take on the challenge of exploring how to define a field in their research.

Breakout sessions focused on the core topics listed below. Each breakout sessions was led by a senior researcher who worked with rapporteurs to provide substance and structure the discussion which followed Chatham House rules. In additional to established researchers, PhD candidates played a particularly significant role in the event as both rapporteurs and participants. The discussion of each topic was led by a senior researcher and a doctoral candidate rapporteur who documented the discussion.

The 2018 SOTF workshop did not publish a consolidated report.