Minor: Cybersecurity & Cybercrime
Hoorcollege: International Cybersecurity
Week 1: Course introduction
What is international cybersecurity?
Harm in Cyberspace
-Accidental physical harm: critical
-Intentional physical harm: sabotage/critical infra
-Accidental informational harm: privacy / misinformation
-Intentional informational harm: crime / espionage/ privacy / disinformation
There are two types of compagnies:
Those who know they’ve been hacked & those who don’t
More and more countries are building their cyber capabilities. Cybersecurity has been
more and more a national security issue. It is a holistic problem - an issue or challenge
that needs to be approached from multiple perspectives or considered in its entirety,
rather than focusing on isolated aspects - which our society must deal with… More and
more are their political motivated cyber-attacks to other countries on critical
infrastructure worldwide.
So why is this interesting?
We have seen competition between countries, but they are not in real war most of the
times. Like China and USA or USA and Russia. One of the main goals is to expose some
critical failures in their (digital) infrastructure.
Managing cybersecurity became one of the most prominent challenges of the 21st
century.
§ State and non- state actors are increasingly using cyberspace to achieve their
goals below the threshold of armed conflict.
§ There are significant advances in developing national strategies to deal with
cybersecurity as a national security issue.
§ States are deeply concerned about vulnerabilities and potential of cyber conflict
escalating outside of cyberspace.
§ States are active in developing rules of the road and are engaged in international
negotiations with the aim to build cyber norms.
Countries are competing. It's like a race in cyberspace, but where will it lead? How far
will the escalation go? Also important, where will it end? Deciding whether to hack a
factory or bomb it…
,Why study International Cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly essential to both national and international
security.
Cybersecurity influences politics:
- Cyber-enabled influence operations
- Data leaks (Elections Hillary Clinton)
- Espionage
Politics influences cybersecurity:
- Government policies shape cybersecurity frameworks
- International relations impact cooperation on cyber defense
- Regulatory measures control cybercrime and espionage
What is in a name: What is Cyberspace
Refers to the virtual interdependent (wederzijds afhankelijk) network where digital
communications and interactions occur. It includes all online systems like the internet,
networks, and the infrastructure that supports them. In the context of cybersecurity,
cyberspace is the domain where data, devices, and information systems are vulnerable
to cyberattacks, hacking, and digital espionage in critical industries.
o Question: Why is it controversial that the USA-Department of Defense comparing
cyberspace with a domain??
o Answer: The U.S. Department of Defense's comparison of cyberspace to a domain is
controversial because it suggests militarizing a space that is primarily civilian, raising
concerns about sovereignty, global cyber conflicts and civilian infrastructure
becoming potential targets. Additionally, there is NO clear international legal
framework for governing warfare in cyberspace, making such comparisons
problematic.
Cyberspace (In Dutch again…) is de digitale ruimte waarin computers, netwerken en het
internet bestaan. Het is de plek waar we online communiceren, informatie opslaan en
uitwisselen, zoals websites, apps en sociale media.
Cybersecurity (In Dutch again…) gaat over het beveiligen van die digitale ruimte
(cyberspace). Het richt zich op het beschermen van computers, netwerken en gegevens
tegen aanvallen van hackers, virussen, en andere bedreigingen. Je kunt het zien als de
beveiliging van cyberspace om ervoor te zorgen dat alles veilig blijft.
In short:
• Cyberspace is the online world where digital interactions happen.
• Cybersecurity is the protection of that online world to keep it safe from attacks
or threats.
,Cyber Utopianism: The belief that cyberspace has the potential to create a
decentralized, libertarian and democratic society by empowering individuals and
reducing the control of centralized authorities.
No role for traditional governance structures, centralized control, or hierarchical
authority. In the vision of cyber utopianism, the power shifts to the individual and
collective digital communities rather than remaining in the hands of established
institutions.
Do states matter in Cyberspace?
In the ‘Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace’, John Perry Barlow addresses the
world of cyber utopianism, where the governments of the industrial world, urging them
to refrain from interfering in cyberspace, which he sees as a new domain for intellectual
freedom. He asserts that this global social space is inherently independent from the
oppressive controls of traditional authorities, claiming that governments have no moral
right to govern the online realm and lack e_ective means of enforcement to instill fear
among its users.
Responds to Barlow…
"The world you represent isn’t a separate reality where laws, ethics, or basic principles
don’t apply. These principles guide and shape the social lives of our democratic
societies," said Nicolas Sarkozy. "Governments have faced one of the biggest learning
challenges ever: realizing they can influence the global force that is the Internet. In many
ways, they are doing this even more e_ectively than they can in the real world, and
they’re doing it faster than ever," added David Drummond, Google's General Counsel.
Take-aways of Cyberspace:
§ How we interface with this network of networks is creating an evolving behavioral
space that is initiating social, economic, and political dynamics.
§ While much of this behavior is benign and positive, there is a growing negative, even
malignant (kwaadaardig) use. Thus, considerations of cybersecurity are becoming
more prominent!
What is in a name: What is Cybersecurity: Protecting confidentiality, integrity,
availability of information systems. It is the set of policies, strategies, and actions that
protect digital networks and data to ensure secure and accurate data handling and
transmission, while staying within authorized and legal limits.
, Three perspectives of cybersecurity:
1. National Perspective: Focuses on territory, conflict, and sovereignty. It deals with how
cybersecurity impacts a nation's control over its borders, its involvement in international
conflicts, and its ability to protect its sovereignty in the digital realm.
2. Individual Perspective: Emphasizes rights, privacy, and personal connections. This
perspective considers how cybersecurity a_ects individual freedoms, the protection of
personal information, and the security of personal interactions and online presence.
3. Commercial Perspective: Concentrates on profit and risk. It involves how businesses
manage cybersecurity to safeguard their financial interests and assess potential risks
related to data breaches, operational disruptions, and loss of consumer trust.
Cybersecurity Practice at Multiple Levels:
1. Levels of Practice:
- Individuals: Personal security measures and awareness.
- Businesses Organizations: Corporate cybersecurity strategies and protections.
- National Governments: National security policies and state-level defenses.
- Internationally: Global cooperation and international cybersecurity norms.
2. Types of Strategies:
- Defense: Protecting systems and data from attacks.
- O_ense: Proactively engaging to neutralize threats or vulnerabilities.
- Deterrence: Preventing attacks through the strategy of preventing attacks by making
it clear that there will be serious consequences if someone tries to attack. The idea
is to discourage threats by warning that the response will be strong, whether through
a counter-attack or legal punishment, making the attack seem too risky.
3. Types of Threats:
- Internal: Threats originating from within the organization or system.
- External: Threats coming from outside sources, such as hackers or foreign entities.
4. Types of Domains:
- Air: Involves threats and defenses related to aerial and satellite systems.
- Land: Concerns physical infrastructure and terrestrial communications.
- Sea: Relates to maritime systems and underwater communication networks.
What is Cybersecurity?
Could be understood as a technical challenge but also as a challenge
for national security.
