Striking Back

Reviews / Votes

"Kello suggests that collective responses, ideally through Nato or coalitions of the capable, will be more effective than a single country acting alone."-Edward Lucas, Times (UK)

"In a work that is sure to be closely studied in western capitals, Kello makes proposals to increase the west's deterrence power and restore 'peace in cyber space.'"-Gideon Rachman, Financial Times

"Kello concentrates on the failure of Western governments to respond to cyberattacks . . . [and] clearly intends Striking Back to be a wake-up call." -Richard Norton-Taylor, Times Literary Supplement

"A major work as well as a wake-up call for the West. . . . A very valuable book."-Christopher Coker, author of Future War



"We can rely on Lucas Kello to provoke when it comes to recognising the impact of technology. In Striking Back he peels away layers of Western complacency and doctrinal failure masking our present dangerous situation of unpeace in cyberspace. He logically arrives at a disturbing conclusion, that we need to shed many of our inhibitions and our cyber legalism and adopt a punctuated deterrence strategy to prevent Russia and China from subverting our internal political and economic affairs."-Professor Sir David Omand, former director of GCHQ and UK Security and Intelligence Coordinator

"The United States and Western allies may have better weapons, but adversaries like Russia and China have better strategies in cyberspace, Lucas Kello argues. Those interested in defending democracies now, before it's too late, should read this book."-Audrey Kurth Cronin, author of How Terrorism Ends

"It is clear that traditional ideas about deterrence are not working in cyberspace; it's not so clear what to do about it. In this wide-ranging and deeply researched book, Lucas Kello presents some serious and credible proposals that need to be read by policy-makers and scholars alike."-Mark Galeotti, author of The Weaponisation of Everything

"It is clear that cyber warfare is rapidly becoming the battlefield of the present and the future. Lucas Kello's book is an excellent summary of both the dangers, challenges and vulnerabilities of the cyber threat. While it is clear that there are no easy answers, this book also makes an important point that to deliver a stable future, we cannot afford to surrender to the threat."-Leon E. Panetta, former director of the CIA, former Secretary of Defense "It is clear that cyber warfare is rapidly becoming the battlefield of the present and the future. Lucas Kello's book is an excellent summary of both the dangers, challenges and vulnerabilities of the cyber threat. While it is clear that there are no easy answers, this book also makes an important point that to deliver a stable future, we cannot afford to surrender to the threat."-Leon E. Panetta, former director of the CIA, former Secretary of Defense -- Leon E. Panetta