Unpacking state-sponsored cyber conflict: Intelligence-driven strategic competition in cyberspace
Abstract
Covert cyber operations are central to state competition, yet scholars disagree whether they are intelligence contests or tools of strategic competition. I develop an Intelligence-Driven Strategic Competition (IDSC) framework that treats cyber conflict as an intelligence contest in which some campaigns are organized to generate cumulative, strategically meaningful costs. Through case analysis of multiple state-sponsored cyber campaigns, I show how intelligence practices fuse with strategic aims and why their cumulative impact varies. The framework bridges existing literatures, with important implications for deterrence, persistent engagement practices and cyber resilience.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies
Intelligence
Security
War Strategy
Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Strategic Studies
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 320–347
- Publication date
- 7 January 2026
- Language
- EN