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"Salami cuts" is a Cold War tactic by which an adversary's influence over another creeps through via a series of small—almost unnoticeable—actions that eventually moves their larger strategy forward.
Gentry Lane, founder of Nemesis Global, a critical infrastructure consultancy, says that's exactly what we're in the midst of in cyberspace. Cyber is a leveler battleground for many adversaries who don't have the same capabilities on a kinetic battlefield, and this incremental approach of cutting into an opponent is being used against U.S. and allied interests.
"I think this is a real-life armed conflict we're in. I think cyberweapons are weapons," she said on this episode of the Nexus Podcast. "We're in a state of geopolitical competition. The major threat actors—China, Russia, Iran, North Korea—they have a vested interest in hurting America because they want to be the global hegemon. ... The hegemon is the one who sets the currency, sets the trends, has the most cultural influence, and the most military and geopolitical influence as well."
Lane says that targeting a hegemon—the U.S. in this case—is done incrementally.
"Hence these seemingly random attacks on American critical infrastructure," she said. "You start thinking: 'Why are they attacking K-12 schools, why are they attacking Krispy Kreme.' Why is that hurting us? It is, and it isn't. One strike at a time doesn't do anything, but it's the aggregate of all of them."
The Salami Cuts strategy targets things that are of value to American society, things we habitually are used to, are convenient, and expect to just work, in addition to our institutions.
"They're not going to take out the grid, but maybe what they'll do is when you flip on your [light] switch, maybe there's a five-minute delay, or 10 minutes," Lane said. "You don't know why. And it's going to be very hard convincing the American public that's China and not [a utility]."
Ultimately, by sowing distrust in our institutions, whether it's in the government's ability to protect us, or utilities, or the mail service, or donuts, Salami Cuts bring adversaries closer to their strategic goals, Lane said.
Lane adds that the U.S. is unlikely to be targeting foreign critical infrastructure the same way given that we are not in a time of war with these adversaries, and established doctrines prohibit targeting of CI during peace time.
"Salami tactics work because you don't know that they're happening until it's too late," she said. "It's incremental degradation. We're slowly but surely, all the things we value as Americans are getting degraded or compromised, and we're going to be busy or too distracted with something else to know it's happening, which is happening."
Michael Mimoso is Director of Influencer Marketing at Claroty and Editorial Director of Nexus.
