Putting counterintelligence in cyber counterintelligence: Back to the future

Businesses and governments alike are grappling with configuring their cyber security postures effectively in a manner to account for rapid changes in the cyber threatscape. Defensively security policies and measures (inclusive of software and hardware technologies) on their own are wholly inadequate in protecting against proliferating threats. An effective approach for securing and advancing cyber interests will have to combine more proactive defences with intelligence on, and the engagement of, adversaries. Offensive and defensive measures, in turn, should be integrated with an institution's strategy and objectives. Appropriately conceptualised, Cyber Counterintelligence (CCI) could meet these requirements and offer a practicable approach for governments, businesses and other sizable entities. There is a precondition. To be effective, CCI should be an integral part of multi-disciplinary Counterintelligence (CI) - conceptually and in practice. However, at least in as far as consulted academic literature is concerned, such conceptualisation is lacking. Disconcertingly, the theoretical discourse about CCI is gaining momentum without a categorical explication of CI. Such theory construction is flawed and, within CI, the price for bad theory is paid in costly failures. Therefore, this paper conceptualises CCI as part of CI. To this end a cursory primer on CI is provided. Building on this primer, the paper proceeds with advancing: (i) A definition of CCI. (ii) A three-tiered postulation for conceptually integrating CCI with multi-disciplinary CI, Intelligence and Strategy. (iii) A taxonomy of CCI tools, methods and means. (iv) A matrix that has the dual purpose of (a) categorising CCI tools, methods and means; and (b) plotting a CCI posture in accordance with the nature and the needs of a specific institution.