12. The Assumption That the Enemy Must Hack You to Stop You

Assumption: Systems fail only when breached.

Denial stops many systems without intrusion. If trust and execution depend on external anchors, removing those anchors halts the mission.

The most dangerous failures are silent, compliant, and non‑intrusive.

Inevitability: The system that keeps operating when the outside world disappears becomes the standard. Everything else is transitional.