ISBN: 978-1633889019, Prometheus Books, August 2023, 300 pages, $26.95 (Hardcover)
Reviewed by: Jean-Michel Newberg, Independent Scholar, Florida, United States
Michael G. McLaughlin and William J. Holstein’s Battlefield Cyber is a necessary and thoughtful book on the cyber domain regarding U.S. national security and its two largest opponents: Russia and China. McLaughlin is a cybersecurity attorney and policy advisor based in Washington, D.C., and Holstein has been covering U.S.–China relations, specifically in technology, for more than 40 years. Previous books by McLaughlin include The New Art of War: China’s Deep Strategy Inside the United States.
Through the course of the book, McLaughlin and Holstein examine the historical record of cyber warfare to reveal how China and Russia repeatedly exploit and attack the United States across avenues such as critical infrastructure intrusions, social media manipulation, cyber espionage, and political campaign undermining. The authors also dive deep into inherent weaknesses in the United States with regard to cybersecurity that allow China and Russia to continue their persistent campaigns to undermine United States national security.
The authors separate the book into two halves. The first half of the book, “Part I: We Are at War,” consists of eight chapters that are thematically engineered to explain how Russia and China have already been incredibly successful in their cyber warfare efforts. The second half, “The Response: What Must Be Done,” makes recommendations for U.S. policy stakeholders to deter and combat the efforts of America’s enemies. All chapters consist of reference notes that can be examined in the “Notes” section for further education.
Battlefield Cyber also consists of an introductory chapter that serves as an “appetizer” for the whole book, with brief introductions to historical evidence such as espionage, network penetration, and criminal gains. The introduction also defines the term “cyber warfare” that the authors use throughout the book and explains why they make recommendations in the second half. Finally, the book ends with a concluding chapter that briefly touches on artificial intelligence and virtual reality and their effects on young people, the need to reestablish a functioning education system, and the need to recenter our overall political compass.
The greatest strength of Battlefield Cyber is the authors’ ability to examine the history of cyber events attributed to Russia or China and how those events and outcomes echo in the present. For example, the story of Chinese espionage targeting Nortel Tech in the late 1990s is included in the third chapter, along with the results and aftermath. Such espionage attacks and failures to respond have allowed China to significantly enhance its technological advancements on the industrious back of Western countries. The authors, after telling the story, then pivot to more recent events, up to 2022, and show how America’s adversaries are still utilizing the same tactics to achieve their goals.
The second greatest strength lies in the layout of Battlefield Cyber. The authors delve into their recommendations in the latter half of the book based on the historical and more recent events connected to Russia and China. Once the reader advances to the latter half of the book, they are prepared with an understanding of cyber warfare and cyber espionage and can better appreciate what the authors recommend to combat United States adversaries. For example, chapters six and seven showcase issues with inherent trust and cloud computing. These issues are then brought up again in chapters eleven and twelve, where the authors recommend what the private and public sectors should do to alleviate these issues and stop China and Russia from using the same vehicles for exploitation.
That said, the book does have some small faults. First, the book has an imbalance of content between Russia and China. More of the book focuses on China than it does on Russia, with two chapters devoted to Chinese events and Russia having no dedicated chapters. It could also have benefited from better sub-thematic implementation. Even though the book is separated into two halves, reorganizing the chapters based on a subtheme, such as “espionage,” “social media,” or “cyber policy,” and including content from both Russia and China in each subtheme chapter would allow quick referencing by security practitioners into the subject they wish to learn more about. This would enhance the book as a long-term resource.
Battlefield Cyber is a must-read and must-have choice for people interested in cyber warfare and espionage. The book gives the reader a solid understanding of the history of cybersecurity, focusing on Russian and Chinese state-based threats against United States national security. It makes reasonable and necessary recommendations for U.S. policy stakeholders to change how America manages security engineering, education, social media, and national and international policy to prevent further intrusions and incidents from America’s adversaries. If you are a student or a practitioner in cybersecurity, international security, cyber law, or foreign relations, Battlefield Cyber will augment your understanding of United States national security.
