The idea for this book goes back to an article with the same title published in January 2012 in the Journal of Strategic Studies. Joe Maiolo and Tom Mahnken were superb editors. They gave this text added exposure by making it the journal’s first article to be published online, months ahead of the actual print issue. Michelle Philipps from Taylor & Francis then decided to lift the article over the paywall, making it openly accessible. Thanks also to Blake Hounshell and Susan Glasser for publishing a shorter version of the initial JSS article in Foreign Policy magazine. Parts of the chapter “Cyber-Weapons” were co-authored with my colleague Peter McBurney, professor at the Department of Informatics at King’s College London, and were initially published under that title. Adrian Johnson and Emma De Angelis, editors at The RUSI Journal, decided to feature the provocative article in the February 2012 issue of their fine outlet. A hat tip goes to Dan Dieterle, the first of many bloggers to cover “Cyber War Will Not Take Place” when the argument was still in its infancy, and to Bruce Schneier, who recommended the initial article to a wider audience than I dared hope.
Several colleagues have helped develop the analysis, sometimes by pointing out arcane details or references that I could not have discovered myself, and sometimes without agreeing with some of the book’s arguments. I would like to thank, in alphabetical order, Dmitri Alperovitch, David Betz, Joel Brenner, Jeffrey Carr, Richard Chirgwin, Ron Deibert, Adam Elkus, Emily Goldman, David Grebe, Clement Guitton, Michael Hayden, Marc Hecker, Eli Jellenc, Pavan Katkar, Daniel Kuehl, Herbert Lin, Joe Maiolo, Peter McBurney, Gary McGraw, Daniel Moore, Richard Overill, David Omand, Dale Peterson, Tim Stevens, John Stone, Ron Tira, Michael Warner, Matthew Waxman, Martin Zapfe, and those who cannot be named as well as three anonymous reviewers. Michael Dwyer at Hurst had the foresight to recommend expanding the initial article into a full-length book. Working with him and his team at Hurst, especially Jon de Peyer and Tim Page, was a pleasure.
The Department of War Studies at King’s College London is a most stimulating place to write and teach, thanks to many colleagues from different disciplines, especially with the Department of Informatics down the hall on the 6th floor on the Strand. The brilliant students in my 2012/13 Cyber Security module were a true inspiration. This book could not have been written anywhere else. For funding I am grateful to the Office of Naval Research and the Minerva Program of the US Department of Defense. I would also like to thank the University of Konstanz, especially Wolfgang Seibel and Fred Girod, for giving me the opportunity to conceptualize the rough outline of this book in the quiet and delightful surroundings of the Seeburg in Kreuzlingen in the summer of 2011.
A very special thank you goes to Annette, who added pink and much else.