The Stages of Cyber Operations

Introduction

Cyber operations have a long and storied history that has evolved tremendously over the last few decades. Cyber operations, and in particular its subset of cyber warfare, came into realization during the 1980s, took-off as an information-gathering mechanism during the late 1990s and early 2000s, then became militarized and still is to this day. Two major incidents that characterize the late 1990s and early 2000s are the Moonlight Maze and the Stuxnet incidents, respectively. Cyber operations were performed throughout each of these incidents.In this assignment, you will describe the goals and objectives of cyber operations, examine the Moonlight Maze and Stuxnet incidents, and identify the regulations or laws that were instituted in the U.S. because of these incidents.The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is:

• Evaluate the stages and motivating factors of a cyber operation in network traffic.

This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Instructions

Write a 3- to 5-page paper in which you:

• Describe the goals and objectives of each of the seven stages of cyber operations, defined for this assignment as:
  • Target recognition.
  • Reconnaissance.
  • Gaining access.
  • Hiding presence.
  • Establishing persistence.
  • Execution.
  • Assessment.

Moonlight Maze Incident

• Explain how each cyber operations stage of the Moonlight Maze incident was implemented and what motivated the activities during each stage.
• Describe the regulations or laws that were instituted in the U.S. because of the Moonlight Maze incident, citing specific, credible sources.

Stuxnet Incident

• Explain how each cyber operations stage of the Stuxnet incident was implemented and what motivated the activities during each stage.
• Describe the regulations or laws that were instituted in the U.S. because of the Stuxnet incident, citing specific, credible sources.

Source Citations and Writing

• Support your main points, assertions, arguments, or conclusions with at least three specific and credible academic references synthesized into a coherent analysis of the evidence.
  • Cite each source listed on your references page at least one time within your assignment.
  • For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.
• Write clearly and concisely in a manner that is well-organized; grammatically correct; and free of spelling, typographical, formatting, and/or punctuation errors.
  • Use section headers in your paper to clearly delineate your main topics.