Issue Brief on “Effectiveness of Confidence-Building Measures in Cyberspace: An Analysis”

In the contemporary era, cyberspace has become an important domain for strategic competition among countries. From cyber espionage to attacks on critical infrastructures, countries today increasingly rely on digital tools to advance their political and strategic goals. In the conventional military domain, security is usually ensured by deterrence and physical frontiers, but cyberspace, due to its borderless and decentralized nature, complicates the traditional strategic calculus. These distinctive features increase the possibility of misinterpretation of a technical failure or a local intrusion as a precursor of a kinetic attack, leading to unintended escalation. CBMs in the cyber domain are meant to act as a pressure valve that mitigates uncertainty by being more transparent, cooperative, and communicative in nature, thus providing a cushion to existing international law or formal treaties. The aim is to establish a trust base and enable states to explain intentions and address crisis situations before they get to a boiling point. Cyber CBMs seek to take the international community out of a culture of digital lawlessness to a more predictable and stable space by encouraging the states to exchange information on national doctrines, nominate focal points to facilitate emergency communication, and engage in collaborative exercises during a crisis.^[1]

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