SCHOOL THESIS

This thesis then developed three courses of action, and outlined their advantages
and disadvantages. It then proposed solutions for each disadvantage, and weighted the
difficulty of implementing each solution. For each course of action, a numerical score
was then assigned. The lowest score indicated an option potentially easier to implement,
while a high scoring option was potentially more difficult.
Overall, the cyber warning topic is important, valuable, relevant, and enduring.
The eventual goal is to present this completed thesis to the NORAD Strategy and Policy
Division for subsequent staff action.
C. THESIS OUTLINE
Chapter II opens with an operational overview, beginning with a short history of
NORAD’s evolving warning missions. The chapter then discusses cyber warfare
components and includes a discussion regarding the difficulty of defining what is meant
by a “cyber attack.” Next, the chapter lists key U.S. and Canada military organizations
involved in national cyberspace operations. The chapter closes with a review of differing
military cyber event conferences.
Chapter III reviews current NORAD, U.S., and Canadian military policy
regarding cyberspace operations, providing the reader numerous examples of national
strategic guidance directing greater cooperation between both nations.
Chapter IV lays out three proposed courses of action (COA) for NORAD, from
removing classification barriers to allow better information sharing, to fusing and
disseminating all-domain threat warnings to both nations, to jointly participating with
U.S. Cyber Command in assessing actual cyber attacks. Each COA is then examined for
advantages, disadvantages, and proposed solutions for implementation.
Chapter V then analyzes each COA using a weighted scoring methodology to
determine the relative difficulty in implementing each course of action. A lower score
indicated an option potentially easier to implement, while a higher scoring option was
potentially more difficult.
Chapter VI concludes with the overall findings and a recommendation.
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