NPS student U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Christopher Bartos of the Department of National Security Affairs has been named winner of the inaugural NPS Foundation/U.S. Naval Institute Essay Contest. His 3,000-word winning entry, “Cyber Weapons Are Not Created Equal,” will be published in the June issue of Proceedings.

“I was very surprised to find out I had won because I wasn't sure the editorial board would agree with some of my conclusions,” said Bartos. “I had no idea that I was in the running for the top prize until I was informed by [NPS Foundation Executive Director] Ms. Suzanne Fortune over the phone that I had won. The essay is a product of the incredible teaching and stimulating learning environment created in the National Security Affairs department, and it comes from the IR theory class I took with Dr. Glosny and the cyber policy and strategy class with Dr. Huntley.”

Bartos’ winning essay attempts to clear up misperceptions in cyber attack and defense operations, and how they are postured. He declares that a rigorous network defense negates offensive penetration because, over time, attack methods become perishable and obsolete.

“My essay challenges a commonly held belief about cyber operations – that they favor the offense more than the defense. While it is true that cyber attacks happen quickly, and that expanding Internet use creates many gaps, the most significant form of cyber operations require significant planning, resources, and expertise to develop and execute. Small attacks will cause problems for society and individuals at large, but it is only these advanced attacks that will influence security at the strategic level,” said Bartos. 

Bartos is pursuing a Masters of Arts in National Security Studies – East Asia Curriculum.

In August, he will be attending the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center to study Korean before going to South Korea to complete his training as a Northeast Asia Foreign Area Officer.

(U.S. Navy photo and original ariticle by Javier Chagoya - see original post here)