Prospects for an International Cybersecurity Regime
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Authors
Holdorf, Polly M.
Issue Date
2015
Type
Technical Report
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Cybersecurity represents a unique and evolving challenge to US national security planners and practitioners. Global interconnectedness facilitated by the internet has created unprecedented opportunities for international commerce and communication. The evolution of cyber technology provides many positive benefits, but significant security risks come along with it. The United States must be prepared to meet a range of cyber challenges such as cyber-crime, cyber-espionage, and cyber-sabotage. Cyberspace is a domain unlike any other. There are no physical boundaries in cyberspace actions taken by a group or an individual on one continent can precipitate an immediate effect on a target located on the other side of the world. There are no physical walls, security fences or border checkpoints to prevent malicious cyber activity from crossing international borders. The cyber domain is a virtual domain that allows for anonymity in addition to the ease and low cost of operating within it. Cyber-attacks may be perpetrated by states, non-state actors, or individuals and attribution of such attacks can be exceedingly difficult. Damage sustained by cyber-attacks is generally intangible, or non-physical, and yet such attacks can have disastrous effects. Both the public and private sectors are vulnerable to cyber-attack. This paper considers the potential for the establishment of an international cybersecurity treaty, order, or regime. It begins by reviewing existing international treaties and polices relating to cybersecurity specifically the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the cyber-related policies of the United States and NATO. The second section looks at the proposed International Code of Conduct in Information Security and discusses the Chinese viewpoint regarding cybersecurity. The third, and final, section examines two alternate forecasts on the probability of the establishment of a viable international cybersecurity agreement.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), USAF Academy