Offensive Cyberspace Operational Readiness: A Usable Framework to Define Offensive Cyberspace Operational Readiness for Military Leaders

Offensive Cyberspace Operations (OCO) are some of the most complex and dynamic military operations currently being conducted by the US military. That complexity has shrouded these operations in mystery that prevents policy and decision-makers from fully understanding current capabilities and limitations contained within this new domain. Current readiness assessment frameworks do not adequately translate these capabilities and limitations into a usable and understandable narrative and lack the specificity required to fully comprehend operational readiness of those forces. Readiness Systems such as Status of Resources and Training System (SORTS) and Defense Readiness Reporting System-Strategic (DRRS-S) capture the force readiness of US military units, but lack the fidelity to clearly define operational readiness, which is required within OCO for those assessments to be meaningful. Examples exist which highlight the complexity of cyber-weapons, from the time needed to develop weapons to the expertise required to ensure they execute as planned. Only when those nuances are captured within an operational-readiness framework can these capabilities and limitations be translated to policy and decision-makers for employment consideration.