The Fifth Domain
Published in 2019, The Fifth Domain is Richard A. Clarke and Robert K. Knake's follow up to their 2010 book Cyber War. Clarke, a former White House counterterrorism and cybersecurity adviser, and Knake, a former director for cybersecurity policy at the National Security Council, argue that cyberspace has become a fifth domain of conflict alongside land, sea, air, and space, and that the United States is more defensible there than most policymakers believe. They survey state sponsored Russian, Chinese, North Korean, and Iranian campaigns, ransomware crews, and the slow buildup of American offensive capability. They also profile companies, utilities, and agencies that have hardened themselves through better engineering, threat intelligence, and incident response, and they lay out a policy agenda for government and private sector cooperation. The book is aimed at general readers, executives, and policymakers rather than technical specialists.
What you might want to know about The Fifth Domain
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Two former White House cybersecurity officials argue that the United States can defend itself in cyberspace, the fifth domain of conflict.
No, Clarke and Knake write for general readers and policymakers, with technical details kept high level.
Cyber War warned of vulnerability; The Fifth Domain is more optimistic and focuses on defense and resilience.
The Fifth Domain was written by Richard A. Clarke, published in 2019 by Penguin Publishing Group.
The Fifth Domain is 352 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Fifth Domain takes most readers 5 to 8 hours to finish.
The Fifth Domain is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.