The Center for Advanced Studies in Terrorism (CAST) is an independent, non-profit policy research organization that aims to improve policy and decision making for the public interest through research and analysis. CAST’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.

The research described in this report was sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under Contract No. GS00Q10ADU108. The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect any policy or position of the sponsoring agency.

The December 2017 National Security Strategy and the January 2018 National Defense Strategy set forth the Trump Administration’s plan for meeting worldwide challenges the nation faces for keeping the nation safe at a time of changing technologies employed by adversaries, whereas the February 2018 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community identifies increasing threats of cyberattack.

As the “birthplace” of the Internet and cyberspace the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) continues to play an important role in the development of technologies that support vital national security missions including the challenges of cybersecurity. In the 1960s ARPA, as it was then known, initiated this new technology with no sense that it would evolve into the largest media revolution in history. At that time there was no need for a national strategy or policy for this resource. Read More