As the world becomes more digitalized and dependent on internet technologies, cyber security has increasingly been regarded as a national security issue. For the last six years, the number of countries having published cyber security strategies has been on the rise. However, due to the cross-cutting character of cyber security, national cyber security strategies often run the risk of failing to address all cyber security requirements of the institutions within a country. Therefore, many national cyber security strategies highlight the importance of generating institution-based cyber security strategies which specifically envision precautions for the existing problems and provide guidance on how to tackle future challenges.

The NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), entitled “A Framework for a Military Cyber Defense Strategy” was held from 11 to 13 April 2016 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. It was organized by the Old Dominion University and the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. The workshop was enabled by NATO's Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Program and focused on SPS's key priority areas for cyber defense along with NATO's cyber defense policy implementation. The ARW brought together experts with an eclectic mix of backgrounds and specialties, from a group of NATO Member States and partner countries that mirror the diversity of the Alliance and its people. The participants considered not only technical implications of cyber security efforts, but also legal, strategic, educational and organizational aspects, providing, in the limited timeframe, for a surprisingly ample view of this field and its intricacies. The discussions highlighted the complexity of cyber security and the numerous challenges associated with the field, which will only be compounded by the formulation of a collective strategy on cyber security and its attendant activities. Key to cyber security efforts is the diversity of the stakeholders involved, ranging from government institutions, the militaries, private and public companies, academia and civil society groups, setting up a vast web of relations whose complexity must be managed. Beginning with the different interests and motivations of the participants, continuing with their differing resources, visions and modes of operation, and ending with the monumental task of setting up a system where these actors march in lock-step in the direction of mutually reinforcing collective action for security gains is crucial.

Cyber security studies is almost two decades old, yet has become subject of not only practitioners but also academics. Hitherto cyber security studies showed that cyber security is not a discipline yet and requires an interdisciplinary approach. This book aims to present state of the art approaches from a multidisciplinary view.

In this book, highlights from the discussions in the ARW are shared in 15 chapters under three sections which are:

– Critical Infrastructure Protection and Situational Awareness

– Policy and Legal Aspects of Cyber Warfare and Security

– Emerging Issues in Cyber Security: Maritime Cyber Security, Big Data and Exercises

The invaluable knowledge presented in the book contributes to readers' cyber security understanding and stimulates them to deliberate more on creating well-tailored and efficient cyber security strategies.

Unal Tatar, Yasir Gokce and Adrian V. Gheorghe