Is cyberwar getting better or worse? Are cyber operations increasing or decreasing? This basic fact of cyber conflict (the total number of operations) is often hard to grasp. Depending on whom a curious individual chooses to listen to, estimates to quantify cyber conflict range from thousands to billions of incidents each year. Various stakeholders offer different views on the cyber threat landscape, some of which are classified and some of which are open to the general public. Because most quantifiable data on cyber conflict is shrouded in secrecy within intelligence agencies and military cyber commands, civilians lack a shared, informed cyber situational awareness.

The public lacks quantifiable data about cyber conflicts. But what about more traditional conflicts? Comparatively, there are  numerous databases available that help to quantify boots-on-the-ground warfare. Access to this information allows observers to draw more generalizable, concrete conclusions to answer questions about the phenomenon of war. Is it increasing or decreasing? Are wars becoming more deadly? Are there regional hot spots? And if so, where? Are there trends in the motivations to start wars, such as increasing conflicts over resources?