// Comparison
Cyber vs Cyberattaque et cyberdéfense: Which Should You Read?
Two cybersecurity books on Strategy, compared honestly: who each is for, what each does best, and which to read first.
A strategic analysis of cyber conflict as permanent, sub-threshold warfare — and what France and Europe should do about it — by a former senior French strategist and a consultant.
An academic, systematic treatment of cyberconflict — doctrines, actors, attack and defence scenarios — from a CNRS researcher who is one of France's most prolific scholars of cyberwar.
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Key takeaways
- One of the most substantive French strategy books on cyber as permanent conflict.
- Gergorin is a former head of policy planning at the Quai d'Orsay — the statecraft is first-hand.
- Policy- and doctrine-focused, with concrete recommendations for France and Europe.
- One of the foundational French academic texts on cyberconflict, heavily referenced and systematic.
- Strong on taxonomy and doctrine — how states conceptualise attack and defence — rather than current events.
- From 2011: read it for the framework, not the latest incidents; Ventre's later books update the material.
How they compare
We rate Cyber higher (4/5 against 3/5 for Cyberattaque et cyberdéfense). For most readers, that means Cyber is the primary pick and Cyberattaque et cyberdéfense is a useful follow-up.
Cyber is pitched at intermediate level. Cyberattaque et cyberdéfense is pitched at advanced level. Read the easier one first if you're not yet comfortable with the topic.
Cyber and Cyberattaque et cyberdéfense both cover Strategy, Geopolitics, Nation-State, so reading them in sequence reinforces the same material from different angles.