Scorched Earth Policy

Historically, this referred to a policy of burning crops in front of an invading army, to prevent them from foraging and thus starve them out. The same term has been applied to the invading army, who destroy everything in their path so that they need not leave a garrison behind to cover their rear.

In the context of computer security, this refers to the intentional destruction of compromised systems to prevent them from being exploited. Virtually unheard of in practice, outside of certain military systems. In certain cases, this destruction may be initiated by a DeadManSwitch failing.

For some fictional examples of the use of a ScorchedEarthPolicy in computer security, see NealStephenson's CryptoNomicon.

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