Siri Strand

Siri's research interests include national cyber security strategies, concepts of hybrid warfare and strategic deterrence, the role of strategic communication in conflict and crisis management, and information operations in peace and conflict with an emphasis on Russian strategy and European security.

Siri has previously worked as a Fellow at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies (IFS) and as a security policy analyst in the Norwegian Armed Forces. She has also worked for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), the International Law and Policy Institute (ILPI) and the Hudson Institute’s Center for Political-Military analysis in Washington D.C.

Siri holds an MA in Intelligence and International Security from King’s College London and a BA in International Studies from the University of Oslo. She has also studied American Foreign Policy at the American University in Washington DC and Russian language in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk.

Siri is a member of the King’s Intelligence and Security Group (KISG) and an associate member of King's Cyber Security Research Group. She is also associated with the Research Centre for Digitalization and Cyber Security Studies at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).

Siri’s PhD research is funded by the Norwegian Research Council (NRC).

Research 

Research interests include:

• National cyber strategies
• Concepts of hybrid warfare and strategic deterrence
• Strategic communication in conflict and crisis management
• Information operations in peace and conflict
• Russian strategy
• European security

Siri’s research falls under three main areas: national cyber security strategies, strategic communication and information operations, and concepts of hybrid warfare and strategic deterrence. Geographically, her research is focused on Russia and Eurasia, Europe and transatlantic relations.

Thesis Title 

Strategic cyber defence: Shaping the operational environment 

Abstract 

Cyber security has evolved into a matter of national security. Consequently, nations are experimenting with how to defend national interests and enhance sovereignty in the digital domain. There is a growing consensus that strategic approaches to cyber defence must be based on some sort of deterrence. However, it remains unclear how states can communicate their capabilities and intentions credibly to deter cyber attacks. Therefore, this research project will investigate the efficacy of different communication activities in supporting cyber defence strategies.

A combination of rational deterrence theory and communication theory will make up the analytical framework that will be applied to historical data on governments' statements of their capabilities over the last decade. This examination will serve the project's primary objectives, which are to generate empirical and theoretical knowledge about how states communicate about their cyber capabilities, and to explain how communication can be used strategically and in different ways to enhance national cyber defence.

Supervisors 

Professor Joe Maiolo and Dr Joseph Devanny

Publications 

Book chapters

Strand, S. (2021). Strategisk kommunikasjon av cyberkapasiteter [Strategic communication of cyber capacities]. In K. Friis & H. Bergsjø (Eds.), Digitalisering og internasjonal politikk: Samarbeid, rivalisering og konflikt [Digitization and international politics: cooperation, rivalry and conflict]. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Althuis, J., Strand, S. (2018). Countering Fake News. In Althuis, J. & Haiden, L. Fake News: A Roadmap (pp. 68-77). Riga: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence.

Reports and policy papers

Schia, N., Strand, S. (2016). Cyber Security as Development Assistance. Growth and Vulnerability (Policy brief No 9/2016). Oslo: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).

Bátora, J., Blockman, S., Ferhatovic, E., Peters, I., Rieker, P., Strambøl, E., & Strand, S. (2016). Best practices in EU crisis response and policy implementation (H2020 EUNPACK Report No 1).

Book reviews

Strand, S. (2016). [Review of the book The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Manoeuvre and Manipulate in the Digital Age, by A. Segal]. Internasjonal Politikk. Vol. 74(4), 1-4.

Conference proceedings

Strand, S. (2017). The Power of Bulk Interception. An Analysis of Digital Communications Interception and its Strategic Aspects. In Sookermany, A. McD, Loockwood, M. E., & Last, D. M. (Eds.), Military Sciences - The Backbone of Military Educational Institutions? - Book of Abstract ISMS 2017 (pp. 178-180). Oslo: Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College.

Strand, S. (2018, January 1). Interview with Eirik Løkke. Trenger Norge et digitalt grenseforsvar? [Does Norway need a Digital Border Defence?]. Minerva.

Strand, S. (2018, March 11). Interview with Jeppe Valeur. Internettet ligger i et hus i Nørre Nebel [Cyberspace: The Internet is located in a house in Nørre Nebel]. Politiken DK.

Müller, L., Strand, S. (2016, April 16). Kampen mot cyberterrorisme [The fight against cyber terrorism]. Dagens Næringsliv.