In Part 2 of This Series, We Examine How Combined Arms Compliments Cybersecurity Strategy

While the term "Combined Arms" originates from military strategy, its application in cybersecurity is more about fostering a strategic mindset rather than a direct adaptation of military principles. The focus is on collaboration, integration, and synergy among different elements within an organization's cyber defense strategy, rather than applying military tactics to cyber warfare.

In cybersecurity, the mindset of Combined Arms is about adopting a holistic and multi-layered approach to defense, leveraging various elements to create a robust security posture. The key components of this mindset typically include:

-         Human Expertise: Recognizing the importance of skilled cyber security professionals who possess the knowledge and experience to make critical decisions, identify threats, and respond effectively to cyber incidents.

-         Existing Technology: Utilizing and optimizing the organization's current security technologies, such as firewalls, antivirus, intrusion detection systems, etc., to provide automated protection and threat detection capabilities.

-         Generative AI: Embracing advanced technologies like Generative AI to augment human analysts, improve threat detection, and assist in predicting and mitigating cyber-attacks.

-         Continuous Learning: Emphasizing the need for ongoing training, learning, and knowledge-building to stay current with the evolving cyber threat landscape and enhance the organization's cyber defense capabilities.

We will examine these four components, in greater detail, as the series progresses.

Strategy takes place only in the world of human competition which is the basis for developing a new cybersecurity strategy to be, as Sun Tzu advocates, “The best strategy is to attack the opponent’s strategy.” In cyber security defense, the new strategy must evolve to meet the adversary’s strategy of “build the weapon that fits the fight.”  

This strategy emphasizes the importance of tailoring your defensive capabilities to match the specific threats and challenges you face. As a tactic in support of this new strategy, Combined Arms can be quite valuable.

The principle of Combined Arms in cybersecurity, aligns well with the cybersecurity strategy of "build the weapon that fits the fight." Here is how the implementation of the four components of the principle support this strategy:

1. Adaptive Defense:

The strategy involves adapting your defensive measures to the unique characteristics and tactics of your adversaries.

The principle of Combined Arms embodies adaptability. It recognizes that the cyber threat landscape is diverse and ever-changing. By integrating human expertise, existing technology, Generative AI, and continuous learning your defense becomes more adaptable and responsive to the evolving tactics of cyber attackers improving the resilience in response to an attack.

2. Tailoring Strengths to Threats:

A successful execution of this strategy is dependent on understanding your strengths and weaknesses and aligning them with the specific threats you're likely to encounter.

Each component, of this tactic, plays to its strengths. Human analysts offer contextual understanding and critical decision-making, technology provides automated protection, Generative AI augments both and continuous learning builds on the knowledge that can be used in the use of existing technology as well as used by Generative AI in training scenarios structured to improve performance. This tailored combination maximizes your defense's effectiveness against a range of cyber threats.

3. Collaboration of Capabilities:

Building the Weapon That Fits the Fight emphasizes integrating different capabilities to create a unified and comprehensive defense.

The principle of Combined Arms promotes collaboration between human analysts, technology tools, and AI models while building on the continuous increase in knowledge. Just as military forces collaborate to enhance effectiveness, these components work together to create a strong and cohesive cyber defense posture.

4. Versatility and Flexibility:

This principle focuses on having versatile tools and tactics that can be adjusted based on the evolving nature of threats.

This approach incorporates human intuition, technology automation, and AI's pattern recognition abilities. This versatility allows your defense to quickly adapt and proactively respond to new attack techniques, ensuring your defense remains relevant in the rapidly changing threat landscape.

5. Effective Resource Utilization:

The ability to optimize resource allocation to address specific threats and challenges is key to rapid response and resilience

By utilizing human experts, existing technology, and Generative AI in a coordinated manner, you ensure the most effective use of available resources to counter the diverse array of cyber threats.

In summary, the principle of Combined Arms in cybersecurity aligns closely with the "building the weapon that fits the fight" strategy. It encourages a dynamic, versatile, and adaptable defensive approach that leverages the strengths of human capabilities, technology, and advanced AI to match the evolving tactics of cyber attackers. This alignment enhances the organization’s ability to tailor their defensive efforts to the specific threats immediately confronting them and ultimately increasing the probability of effectively countering current and future cyber threats.