Effective deterrence requires a mix of effective protection and rapid attribution of responsibility built on several assumptions: the West might not yet be facing a monolithic threat but it is sufficiently dangerous to require adaptive defence and deterrence; the human element will be as important as technological capability; there is a vital need for more effective and responsive indicators and metrics; and a vital need to win the battle of narratives in hybrid warfare.
Tools that cut across threats are needed to identify, quantify, and respond. Such cross-cutting tools include the need for holistic strategies and capabilities to ensure resilient energy supply; the ability to deal effectively with the uncontrolled movement of people; mitigating the impact of climate change on security; the capacity to deal with mass casualty events and highly disruptive health crises; ensuring resilient civil communications to underpin effective civil defence; the protection of critical underwater infrastructure and consequence management; and ensuring resilient civilian transportation systems and the capacity to identify and respond to anomalous shipping movements.