Are Cyber Weapons Effective Military Tools? | INSS
go to header go to content go to footer go to search
INSS logo The Institute for National Security Studies, Strategic, Innovative, Policy-Oriented Research, go to the home page
INSS
Tel Aviv University logo - beyond an external website, opens on a new page
  • Campus
  • Contact
  • עברית
  • Support Us
  • Research
    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
        • Israel-United States Relations
        • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
        • Russia
        • Europe
        • Antisemitism and Delegitimization
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
        • The Campaign Against Iran and the Shiite Axis
        • Iran
        • Lebanon and Hezbollah
        • Syria
        • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
        • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
        • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
        • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
        • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
        • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
        • Turkey
        • Egypt
        • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
        • Military and Strategic Affairs
        • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
        • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
        • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
        • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
      • Cross-Arena Research
        • Data Analytics Center
        • Law and National Security
        • Advanced Technologies and National Security
        • Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference
        • Economics and National Security
    • Projects
      • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
      • India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
  • Publications
    • -
      • All Publications
      • INSS Insight
      • Policy Research and Papers
      • Special Publication
      • Strategic Assessment
      • Technology Platform
      • Memoranda
      • Posts
      • Books
      • Archive
  • Database
    • Surveys
    • Spotlight
    • Maps
    • Dashboards
  • Events
  • Team
  • About
    • Vision and Mission
    • History
    • Research Disciplines
    • Chairman of the Board
    • Board of Directors
    • Fellowship and Prizes
    • Annual Reports
    • Internships
  • Media
    • Communications
    • Video gallery
    • Press Releases
  • Podcast
  • Newsletter
  • Campus
Search in site
  • Research
    • Topics
    • Israel and the Global Powers
    • Israel-United States Relations
    • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • Antisemitism and Delegitimization
    • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
    • The Campaign Against Iran and the Shiite Axis
    • Iran
    • Lebanon and Hezbollah
    • Syria
    • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
    • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
    • Conflict to Agreements
    • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
    • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
    • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
    • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
    • Turkey
    • Egypt
    • Jordan
    • Israel’s National Security Policy
    • Military and Strategic Affairs
    • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
    • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
    • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
    • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
    • Cross-Arena Research
    • Data Analytics Center
    • Law and National Security
    • Advanced Technologies and National Security
    • Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference
    • Economics and National Security
    • Projects
    • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
    • India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
  • Publications
    • All Publications
    • INSS Insight
    • Policy Research and Papers
    • Special Publication
    • Strategic Assessment
    • Technology Platform
    • Memoranda
    • Posts
    • Books
    • Archive
  • Database
    • Surveys
    • Spotlight
    • Maps
    • Dashboards
  • Events
  • Team
  • About
    • Vision and Mission
    • History
    • Research Disciplines
    • Chairman of the Board
    • Board of Directors
    • Fellowship and Prizes
    • Internships
    • Annual Reports
    • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • Media
    • Communications
    • Video gallery
    • Press Releases
  • Podcast
  • Newsletter
  • Campus
  • Contact
  • עברית
  • Support Us
bool(false)

Publications

Home Publications Military and Strategic Affairs Are Cyber Weapons Effective Military Tools?

Are Cyber Weapons Effective Military Tools?

Military and Strategic Affairs, Volume 7, No. 1, March 2015

Follow us on Google
עברית
Emilio Iasiello
Cyber-attacks are often viewed in academic and military writings as strategic asymmetric weapons, great equalizers with the potential of leveling the battlefield between powerful nations and those less capable.  However, there has been little evidence to suggest that cyber-attacks are a genuine military option in a state-on-state conflict. In instances of actual military operations (e.g., Afghanistan, Georgia, Iraq, and Israel/Gaza), there is little accompanying evidence of a military conducting cyber-attacks against either a civilian or military target.  Given that some of the nation states that have been involved in military conflict or peacekeeping missions in hostile areas are believed to have some level of offensive cyber capability, this may be indicative. More substantive examples demonstrate that cyber-attacks have been more successful in non-military activities, as they may serve as a clandestine weapon of subterfuge better positioned to incapacitate systems without alerting the victims, veiling the orchestrator’s true identity via proxy groups and plausible deniability. Consequently, this paper provides a counter argument to the idea that cyber tools are instrumental military weapons in modern day warfare;  cyber weapons are more effective options during times of nation state tension rather than military conflict, and are more serviceable as a signaling tool than one designed to gain military advantage. In situations where state-on-state conflict exists, high value targets that need to be neutralized would most likely be attacked via conventional weapons where battle damage assessment can be easily quantified. This raises the question: are cyber weapons effective military tools?

The opinions expressed in INSS publications are the authors’ alone.
Publication Series Military and Strategic Affairs
TopicsAdvanced Technologies and National Security
עברית

Events

All events
Israel’s National Security Conference
27 July, 2026
10:00 - 14:00

Related Publications

All publications
Generated with AI
From Red to Blue-and-White: The Strategic Necessity of Developing the Israeli Drone Industry
Chinese-made drones pose a range of security, technological, and geopolitical challenges for Israel. What measures should Israel take to mitigate the risks involved?
07/07/26
Shutterstock
The Battle over Access to Artificial Intelligence: Israel’s Next Strategic Challenge
The restrictions recently imposed on Anthropic — including the U.S. administration’s directive to limit access to certain models for users and entities outside the United States on national security grounds[1] — constitute a significant milestone in the evolving relationship between technology, national security, and foreign policy. Whereas over the past decade, the discourse surrounding digital sovereignty has focused on issues such as privacy, data localization, regulation, and cloud infrastructure, recent developments point to a transition to a new phase in which access to advanced artificial intelligence capabilities is becoming a strategic asset in itself. In this reality, not only data or chips are becoming objects of government policy, but also the models themselves. This article argues that the Anthropic case is not an isolated incident but rather a manifestation of a broader trend, in which artificial intelligence is becoming a central component of national power. As a result, access to advanced models may in the future become a policy tool, a mechanism of geopolitical influence, and a means of advancing strategic interests. For Israel, this development necessitates a reassessment of its approach to technological sovereignty and its policies in the fields of artificial intelligence, computing, and infrastructure, as well as a rethinking of its broader security paradigm. [1] The directive conveyed to Anthropic on June 12 by the Trump administration required the company to terminate access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for all foreign users, including the company’s foreign employees, users outside the United States, and international clients. According to reports, the company was given a very short timeline to implement the directive, under the threat of civil and criminal sanctions in the event of non-compliance. At a later stage, a limited exemption was granted, allowing the use of Mythos 5 for a small number of critical infrastructure organizations within the United States, while Fable 5 remained restricted.  
01/07/26
Shutterstock
The Pentagon’s AI-First Doctrine and Its Implications for Modern Warfare: Lessons from the Conflict with Iran
How has the new US policy—under which AI is positioned as a foundational component in the chain of command, intelligence gathering, and the planning of complex operations—been reflected on the battlefield, and what conclusions should be drawn in Israel?
19/03/26

Stay up to date

Registration was successful! Thanks.
  • Research

    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
      • Israel-United States Relations
      • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
      • Russia
      • Europe
      • Antisemitism and Delegitimization
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
      • The Campaign Against Iran and the Shiite Axis
      • Iran
      • Lebanon and Hezbollah
      • Syria
      • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
      • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
      • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
      • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
      • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
      • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
      • Turkey
      • Egypt
      • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
      • Military and Strategic Affairs
      • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
      • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
      • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
      • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
      • Cross-Arena Research
      • Data Analytics Center
      • Law and National Security
      • Advanced Technologies and National Security
      • Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference
      • Economics and National Security
    • Projects
      • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
      • India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)
  • Publications

    • All Publications
    • INSS Insight
    • Policy Research and Papers
    • Special Publication
    • Strategic Assessment
    • Technology Platform
    • Memoranda
    • Database
    • Posts
    • Books
    • Archive
  • About

    • Vision and Mission
    • History
    • Research Disciplines
    • Chairman of the Board
    • Board of Directors
    • Fellowship and Prizes
    • Internships
    • Annual Reports
    • Support
    • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • Media

    • Communications
    • Video Gallery
    • Press Release
    • Podcast
  • Home

  • Events

  • Database

  • Team

  • Contact

  • Newsletter

  • עברית

INSS logo The Institute for National Security Studies, Strategic, Innovative, Policy-Oriented Research, go to the home page
40 Haim Levanon St. Tel Aviv, 6997556 Israel | Tel 03-640-0400 | Fax 03-744-7590 |
Developed by Daat ,Yael Group.
Accessibility Statement
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.