Nuclear Weapons and Cyber Risks: Policy Recommendation for Enhancing Supply Chain and C3 Security and Resilience

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Presented at CODEBLUE2018@TOKYO 2018 by

Julia Berghofer

Although there have not been major cyber-attacks on nuclear weapons systems yet, the cyber threat to state-owned missiles and warheads are on the rise. The risks range from simple hacking to large-scale infiltration of sensitive systems. Accordingly, the potential scope of damage and destruction, as well as the political implications vary. At the same time non-state actors and state actors alike could become the key drivers in a cyber-attack. Thus far, the cyber threat for nuclear weapons systems is still under-addressed, and therefore nuclear safety and security structures for command, control and communication (C3) and the supply chain has to be improved. This will only be realized through better information and education; cooperation between key actors like decision makers, academia and the private sector, and through a new nuclear security culture more generally.