Hacking The Bomb: Cyber Threats and Nuclear Weapons

216 Pages·2018·4.419 MB·English

by  Andrew Futter

Andrew Futter roreworp By Lord Des Browne

HACKING
THE BOMB

HACKING
THE BOMB
Cyber Threats and
Nuclear Weapons
ANDREW FUTTER
Foreword by Lord Des Browne,
Former Secretary of State for Defence and
Former Secretary of State for Scotland,
United Kingdom
Georgetown University Press
WASHINGTON, DC
© 2018 Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
The publisher is not responsible for third-party websites or their content. URL links
were active at time of publication.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Futter, Andrew, 1983— author.
Title: Hacking the bomb : cyber threats and nuclear weapons / Andrew Futter.
Description: Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press, 2018. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 20170355761 ISBN 9781626165649 (hardcover : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781626165656 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781626165663 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Nuclear weapons. | Nuclear weapons--Security measures. |
Hacking. | Command and control systems. | Cyberspace operations (Military
science) | Information warfare.
Classification: LCC U264 .F877 2018 | DDC 355.8/25119—dce23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017035576
This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
19 18 98765432 First printing
Printed in the United States of America
Cover design by N. Putens.
For Rehana

* CONTENTS
Foreword by The Rt. Hon. Lord Browne of Ladyton
Acknowledgments Xi
Introduction: WarGames Redux?
Part I: The Nature of the Challenge
What Exactly Do We Mean by the Cyber Challenge? \7
2 How and Why Might Nuclear Systems Be Vulnerable? 35
Part Il: What Might Hackers Do to Nuclear Systems?
3 Stealing Nuclear Secrets 55
4 Could Cyberattacks Lead to Nuclear Use or Stop Systems
from Working? 3
Part Ill: The Cyber-Nuclear Nexus at the Strategic Level
5 ——Cyberdeterrence, Nuclear Weapons, and Managing
Strategic Threats 95
6 A Cyber-Nuclear Security Dilemma, Nuclear Stability,
and Crisis Management 111
Part IV: Challenges for Our Cyber-Nuclear Future
7 Nuclear Weapons Modernization, Advanced Conventional
Weapons, and the Future Global Nuclear Environment 131
—- Vii-
vill
Contents
Conclusion: Managing Our Cyber-Nuclear Future 149
Bibliography 161
Index 187
About the Author 197