  Despite not having a clear meaning, public perception and awareness makes the
term cyber Pearl Harbor an important part of the public discourse. This paper
considers what the term has meant and proposes its decomposition based on three
different aspects of the historical Pearl Harbor attack, allowing the lessons
from Pearl Harbor to be applied to threats and subjects that may not align with
all aspects of the 1941 attack. Using these three definitions, prior attacks
and current threats are assessed and preparation for and response to cyber
Pearl Harbor events is discussed.
