Michael G. McLaughlin, a Baker Donelson attorney and former senior counterintelligence advisor for United States Cyber Command, has co-authored a book about the threat of cyber warfare and the critical need for a "whole of society" response to address the crisis these ongoing threats pose to American institutions.
Battlefield Cyber: How China and Russia are Undermining Our Democracy and National Security highlights how the United States is being bombarded by cyber-attacks, with malicious cyber activities reaching an all-time high. Mr. McLaughlin and his co-author, William Holstein, contend that halting this pervasive digital aggression from threat actors, including China and Russia, will require Americans to undertake sweeping changes in educating, organizing, and protecting themselves.
"It has become cliché to say that a 'whole of society' response is needed, but that concept has never been more important," said Mr. McLaughlin. "To even begin to secure our IT systems will require an investment of many years and billions of dollars. Our hope is that this book will educate Americans about what has happened and inspire them to push for the solutions necessary to protect our country and its institutions."
Mr. McLaughlin served in the United States Navy as an intelligence officer from 2010 to 2022. He served in multiple postings worldwide, most recently as senior counterintelligence advisor for United States Cyber Command, where he directed all counterintelligence operations, investigations, and support to the Department of Defense (DoD) global cyberspace operations, and as director of counterintelligence and human intelligence for the Cyber National Mission Force. During that time, Mr. McLaughlin also served as a policy and cybersecurity research affiliate for the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, where he advised senior government officials on the integration and expansion of DoD cyberspace capabilities.
His co-author, Bill Holstein, has been covering U.S.-China relations for more than 40 years. He served as Beijing bureau chief for United Press International and studied China's techno-autocratic system in-depth. This is his 10th book over 30 years. Previous titles include A Grand Strategy: Countering China, Taming Technology, and Restoring the Media and The New Art of War: China's Deep Strategy Inside the United States.
Battlefield Cyber, which will be published in 2023, is available for pre-order on Amazon.