Military Review English Edition May-June 2014 | Page 24

Failed
Cyberdefense
The Environmental
Consequences
of Hostile Acts
Jan Kallberg, Ph.D., and Rosemary A. Burk, Ph.D.
(FEMA, David Valdez)

A

FAILED CYBERDEFENSE CAN have wider effects than discussed in earlier debates of potential consequences of a cyberattack. The need for cyberdefense to protect the environment has not drawn the attention it deserves as a national security matter.
Adversarial nations are covertly pursuing methods to damage and disrupt the United States
in a cyberconflict in the future. The president of the United States noted this in Sustaining
U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense:

Both state and non-state actors possess the capability and intent to conduct
cyberespionage and, potentially, cyberattacks on the United States, with possible severe effects on both our military operations and our homeland.1

Jan Kallberg is an assistant professor at Arkansas Tech University and a research associate at the Cyber Security Research
and Education Institute, the University of Texas at Dallas. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Dallas. His works
have been published in Joint Force Quarterly, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Air and Space Power Journal, IEEE Access, and
IEEE Security and Privacy.
Rosemary Burk is an assistant professor in biology at Arkansas Tech University. She holds a Ph.D. from the Department
of Biological Sciences at the University of North Texas. Her research has been published by International Journal of Water
Resource Development and Journal of Freshwater Ecology.

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May-June 2014 MILITARY REVIEW