‘Militarization’ of cyberspace makes for some interesting thoughts

At the BlackHat briefings in DC this month, Paul Kurtz (an advisor to both the old administration and the current one) made some very salient points about the future of national cyberspace policy – likening the trend to a so-called ‘militarization.’ That’s an interesting thought based on the following logic:
If the happenings in cyberspace are in the national interest (which I’m pretty sure everyone would agree they are) and the responsibility of the President is to protect the national interests (which I believe most would agree it is), and the tools at the President’s disposal to protect American interests abroad include diplomacy and the military… well, it makes perfect sense.
Unfortunately, we’re at a place where we’ve spent almost no national energy defining the details of how cyberspace is in the national interest, how the President can use diplomacy and force to protect those interests, who will carry out the missions supporting those actions, etc. But we’re moving that way, and that’s positive.
When considering the role of the military (or any other organization using force to carry out orders to protect the national interest in cyberspace), I immediately thought of Sun Tzu.
Ah, Sun-Tzu – look what you knew about cyberspace and cyberwar 2300 years ago.
Classically trained military officers (one of which I guess I am) learned the principles of war from Sun Tzu in the following mnemonic: MOSS MOUSE.
•    Mass - Mass the effects of overwhelming combat power at the decisive place and time.
•    Objective - Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable goal.
•    Simplicity - Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and concise orders to ensure thorough understanding.
•    Surprise - Strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
•    Maneuver - Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage through the flexible application of combat power.
•    Offensive - Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative.
•    Unity of Command - For every objective, seek unity of command and unity of effort.
•    Security - Never permit the enemy to acquire unexpected advantage.
•    Economy of Force - Employ all combat power available in the most effective way possible; allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary efforts.
As the nation gears up for protecting cyberspace aligned with the national interests, Sun Tzu’s principles have never been truer. And as many organizations (both traditional military organizations and civilian government departments and agencies) vie for dominance in cyberspace operations, the challenges inherent in creating, adopting, and executing doctrine and strategy which support these principles will grow significantly.