Active cyber defense

Active cyber defense (ACD) is an important but ill-​defined concept in cyber security. This Trend Analysis (TA) aims to provide some conceptual clarity for the benefit of practitioners, scholars and policy-​makers. It examines a series of techniques commonly associated with ACD and contextualizes them with resilient and fortification-​based approaches to cyber defense. The TA also conducts an empirical, qualitative analysis of national cyber security strategies which demonstrates that ACD is not deployed in isolation, but as an important component in a wider, strategic approach to national cyber defense. The combination of conceptual clarity and policy-​based analysis in the TA shows that a goal-​oriented approach to strategic cyber defense is the best approach in this constantly shifting security field, as it allows for the most appropriate and effective tools to be selected depending on circumstances.