--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are at war, if you will, in the cyber…" description: "\"We are at war, if you will, in the cyber domain now, constantly battling countries, such as Russia or China, who are trying to do everything from steal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/mark-esper-12828_cyber_we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-d_1011214.jpg" --- # We are at war, if you will, in the cyber domain now… ![“We are at war, if you will, in the cyber domain now, constantly battling countries, such as Russia or China, who are trying to do everything from steal our technology to influence our elections to put out disinformation about the United States.” quote by Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/mark-esper-12828_cyber_we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-d_1011214.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/mark-esper-12828_cyber_we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-d_1011214.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/mark-esper-12828_cyber_we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-d_1011214.jpg) > “We are at war, if you will, in the cyber domain now, constantly battling countries, such as Russia or China, who are trying to do everything from steal our technology to influence our elections to put out disinformation about the United States.” [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The United States faces ongoing cyber warfare from rival nations seeking theft, influence, and disinformation. **In simple terms:** Cyber threats are a modern battlefield. Key Takeaway Strengthen cyber defenses. Themes security technology geopolitics information warfare national defense Mood serious urgent Type policy informational When to use this quote - government policy - corporate security - personal data protection - election integrity Key Concepts cyber espionage disinformation digital sovereignty Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect against cyber attacks? - What role should individuals play in cyber hygiene? A Different Perspective Balancing security with privacy is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disinformation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disinformation/) [Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hacker/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [We have to be able to reject disproportionate and unjustified responses in the cyber domain just as we do in the physical domain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-have-to-be-able-to-reject-disproportionate-and-unjustified/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Bad actors like Russia, Iran, and China have demonstrated time and time again they have both the capabilities and the intent to use the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hurd/bad-actors-like-russia-iran-and-china-have-demonstrated-time-and-time/) [Will Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hurd/) > [“In “What Happened,” Clinton, by way of demanding national resolve against a Russian threat, quotes a maxim attributed to Vladimir Lenin: “You take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/in-what-happened-clinton-by-way-of-demanding-national-resolve-against/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [Information technology alone cannot provide us an absolute shield against its evil twin disinformation technology. Our only protection is law, and that protection is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-starr/information-technology-alone-cannot-provide-us-an-absolute-shield/) Paul Starr > [Be careful who you choose as your hero or who you choose to deify, be it Clay Aiken or Barack Obama. You put all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/be-careful-who-you-choose-as-your-hero-or-who-you-choose-to-deify-be/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [“Both incest and the Holocaust have been subject to furious denial by perpetrators and other individuals and by highly organised groups such as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-walker/both-incest-and-the-holocaust-have-been-subject-to-furious-denial-by/) Janet Walker > [Disinformation has always existed. It's not like all of a sudden we've just discovered this new thing called propaganda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wylie/disinformation-has-always-existed-it-s-not-like-all-of-a-sudden-we-ve/) [Christopher Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-wylie/) > [“The concept of fourth-generation wars simply refers to the use of disinformation, funding subversive N.G.O.s, and spreading rumours as a method for warfare, broadening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maged-mandour/the-concept-of-fourth-generation-wars-simply-refers-to-the-use-of/) Maged Mandour > [Esso has been the main one in America spreading the disinformation that there is no global warming problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/esso-has-been-the-main-one-in-america-spreading-the-disinformation/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [“Just as in the Trump-Giuliani Ukraine conspiracy, we saw a ruthless, single-minded obsession with staying in power; a manifest lack of moral values, shame,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-yovanovitch/just-as-in-the-trump-giuliani-ukraine-conspiracy-we-saw-a-ruthless/) Marie Yovanovitch > [“Although the Russians had sown disinformation through fake news in the Ukrainian election in 2014 and hacked into the election system to manipulate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-brazile/although-the-russians-had-sown-disinformation-through-fake-news-in/) [Donna Brazile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-brazile/) > [“What is the flow and impact of disinformation? How is the disinformation spreading and what are its effects?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spitz/what-is-the-flow-and-impact-of-disinformation-how-is-the/) [Roger spitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spitz/) > [The oil companies regard nuclear power as their rival, who will reduce their profits, so they put out a lot of disinformation about nuclear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/the-oil-companies-regard-nuclear-power-as-their-rival-who-will-reduce/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [“There have been extensive human rights violations by American psychiatrists over the last 70 years. These doctors were pad by the American taxpayer through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-a-ross/there-have-been-extensive-human-rights-violations-by-american/) [Colin A. Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-a-ross/) > [Public discourse has been polluted now for decades by corporate-funded disinformation - not just with climate change but with a host of health, environmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-mann/public-discourse-has-been-polluted-now-for-decades-by-corporate/) [Michael E. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-e-mann/) ## More by Mark Esper > [We certainly have the best special operations forces in the world and know how to do counterterrorism extremely well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/we-certainly-have-the-best-special-operations-forces-in-the-world-and/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [I think artificial intelligence will likely change the character of warfare, and I believe whoever masters it first will dominate on the battlefield for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/i-think-artificial-intelligence-will-likely-change-the-character-of/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [If you talk to any senior Army leaders, you'll find one, if not all, their children are in the Army.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/if-you-talk-to-any-senior-army-leaders-you-ll-find-one-if-not-all/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [We may be a little bit late - we are late - coming to the recognition that we are in a strategic competition with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/we-may-be-a-little-bit-late-we-are-late-coming-to-the-recognition/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [AI will allow the soldier to act and think much more quickly. Whoever gets to AI first, I believe, will have dominance for many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/ai-will-allow-the-soldier-to-act-and-think-much-more-quickly-whoever/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [Our warfighting doctrine is that we don't want to be in a fair fight, and we want the fight to always be tilted in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/our-warfighting-doctrine-is-that-we-don-t-want-to-be-in-a-fair-fight/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [One of the key challenges the military has faced - and the Army, in particular - is defining our requirements and keeping them stable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/one-of-the-key-challenges-the-military-has-faced-and-the-army-in/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [The bottom line is this: in an era of mounting fiscal challenges and competing demands, we must actively seek ways to free up time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/the-bottom-line-is-this-in-an-era-of-mounting-fiscal-challenges-and/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [I've got a lot of military kids who are not in on-base child care, and they should be. So it's things like that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/i-ve-got-a-lot-of-military-kids-who-are-not-in-on-base-child-care-and/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [The biggest challenge is clearly China, in the years 2035 and beyond. I mean, the size of the country, its economy, and everything -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/the-biggest-challenge-is-clearly-china-in-the-years-2035-and-beyond-i/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [The international rules-based order in the wake of World War II is the order that has ensured prosperity and security now for 75 years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/the-international-rules-based-order-in-the-wake-of-world-war-ii-is/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [Good alliances are made of strong, capable partners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/good-alliances-are-made-of-strong-capable-partners/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [In many cases, the reason why our child development centers are not at full capacity is that we have an insufficient number of providers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/in-many-cases-the-reason-why-our-child-development-centers-are-not-at/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [Now, 'high-intensity conflict' is a fancy word for saying tanks on tanks, aircraft shooting each other out of the sky, a great deal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/now-high-intensity-conflict-is-a-fancy-word-for-saying-tanks-on-tanks/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) > [When I went to West Point, I was there with cadets from 50 other states and territories. Cadets from other countries, and you learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/when-i-went-to-west-point-i-was-there-with-cadets-from-50-other/) [Mark Esper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) [Explore all 53 Mark Esper quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/) ## More Cyber quotes > [It's official: cyber terror is the new yellowcake uranium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-poulsen/it-s-official-cyber-terror-is-the-new-yellowcake-uranium/) Kevin Poulsen > [We've always had to worry about the electrical grid and nuclear facilities, and they remain a concern; but cyber-terrorism, you know, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-ve-always-had-to-worry-about-the-electrical-grid-and-nuclear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As president, improving cyber security will be an immediate and top priority for my administration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/as-president-improving-cyber-security-will-be-an-immediate-and-top/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I worry about my kids' cyber futures, particularly in the love-life department. It seems their generation meets online instead of the way we did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisyn-camerota/i-worry-about-my-kids-cyber-futures-particularly-in-the-love-life/) [Alisyn Camerota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisyn-camerota/) > [Distributed ledgers are inherently harder to attack because instead of a single database, there are multiple shared copies of the same database, so a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walport/distributed-ledgers-are-inherently-harder-to-attack-because-instead/) [Mark Walport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walport/) > [Willpower is the fuel that runs human life; Like a driver in a computer application, Or Operating System in cyber programme, Willpower works life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/praveen-kumar/willpower-is-the-fuel-that-runs-human-life-like-a-driver-in-a/) [Praveen Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/praveen-kumar/) > [I will then ask for a plan to immediately protect those vulnerabilities and then fix them.At the same time, we will invest heavily in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-will-then-ask-for-a-plan-to-immediately-protect-those/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Perception is real, truth is not. I'm not fighting for money and possessions. I'm fighting for something more precious. I pray that as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imelda-marcos/perception-is-real-truth-is-not-i-m-not-fighting-for-money-and/) [Imelda Marcos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imelda-marcos/) > [The nature and scope of security threats in the cyber era are four-dimensional compared to the early nuclear age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-sasse/the-nature-and-scope-of-security-threats-in-the-cyber-era-are-four/) [Ben Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-sasse/) > [The threat landscape continues to expand, while cyber threats are continually becoming more sophisticated. This has convinced organizations to expand their security policies and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-xie/the-threat-landscape-continues-to-expand-while-cyber-threats-are/) [Ken Xie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-xie/) > [What was once a comparatively minor threat - people hacking for fun or for bragging rights - has turned into full-blown economic espionage and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-a-wray/what-was-once-a-comparatively-minor-threat-people-hacking-for-fun-or/) [Christopher A. Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-a-wray/) > [Everyone in the world is impacted by the United States' Big Brother attitude toward the world. We need countries to say no to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/everyone-in-the-world-is-impacted-by-the-united-states-big-brother/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [We have to get very, very tough on cyber and cyber warfare. It is - it is a huge problem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-have-to-get-very-very-tough-on-cyber-and-cyber-warfare-it-is-it-is/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Cyber theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States by far.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/cyber-theft-is-the-fastest-growing-crime-in-the-united-states-by-far/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Government never adapts quickly to new challenges, but our slow-footedness on cyber is unparalleled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-sasse/government-never-adapts-quickly-to-new-challenges-but-our-slow/) [Ben Sasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-sasse/) Browse all 251 Cyber quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are at war, if you will, in the cyber domain now, constantly battling countries, such as Russia or China, who are trying to do everything from steal our technology to influence our elections to put out disinformation about the United States.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Esper" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-domain-now-constantly-battling/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cyber" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-domain-now-constantly-battling/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/mark-esper-12828_cyber_we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-d_1011214.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/mark-esper-12828_cyber_we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-d_1011214.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f2/mark-esper-12828_cyber_we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-d_1011214.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are at war, if you will, in the cyber domain now, constantly battling countries, such as Russia or China…” — Mark Esper", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Esper", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-esper/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are at war, if you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-domain-now-constantly-battling/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-esper/we-are-at-war-if-you-will-in-the-cyber-domain-now-constantly-battling/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```