Preventing cyber intelligence failures by analyzing intelligence failures and intelligence reforms

The rise of the digital age heralded a new theatre of war, the cyberspace domain. A domain without borders and potentially ungoverned by international treaties that restrict armed conflict, cyberspace presents new and unique challenges to the defense of nation-states. A fundamental key to success within this new theatre is cyber intelligence. Similar to the other intelligence disciplines, the misapplication of cyber intelligence has the potential to cause spectacular failures. Fortunately, the establishment of a new intelligence discipline does not necessitate the reinvention of the wheel. With proper analysis lessons can be learned from intelligence failures that range from the spectacular to the benign and those lessons can then be applied to cyber intelligence. The purpose of this research was to analyze intelligence failures and the remedies applied to intelligence failures and apply the conclusions to cybersecurity in order to prevent cyber intelligence failures. What were the causes of intelligence failures? What reforms were applied to the intelligence process? How can the lessons from intelligence failures and reforms be applied to prevent cyber intelligence failures? Policymakers were the primary target of this research. To that end, this report includes basic concepts of intelligence, cybersecurity, and cyber intelligence. This report also includes analysis of the general causes of intelligence failures and analysis of case studies of intelligence failures. The majority of analyses regarding intelligence failures were from a policy level perspective. Likewise, the analyses of intelligence reforms were also from a policy level perspective.