Cyberspace comprises IT networks, computer resources, and all the fixed and mobile devices connected to the global Internet. A nation’s cyberspace is part of the global cyberspace; it cannot be isolated to define its boundaries since cyberspace is borderless. This is what makes cyberspace unique. Unlike the physical world that is limited by geographical boundaries in space—land, sea, river waters, and air—cyberspace can and is continuing to expand. Increased Internet penetration is leading to growth of cyberspace, since its size is proportional to the activities that are carried through it.
Cyberspace merges seamlessly with the physical world. So do cyber crimes. Cyber attackers can disrupt critical infrastructures such as financial and air traffic control systems, producing effects that are similar to terrorist attacks in the physical space They can also carry out identity theft and financial fraud; steal corporate information such as intellectual property; conduct espionage to steal state and military secrets; and recruit criminals and others to carry out physical terrorist activities.
Anyone can exploit vulnerabilities in any system connected to the Internet and attack it from anywhere in the world without being identified. As the Internet and new technologies grow, so do their vulnerabilities. Knowledge about these vulnerabilities and how to exploit them are widely available on the Internet. During the development of the global digital Internet and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, the key considerations were interoperability and efficiency, not security. The explosion of mobile devices continues to be based on these insecure systems of Internet protocols.
It is increasingly cheap to launch cyber attacks, but security systems are getting more and more expensive. This growing asymmetry is a game changer. It has another dimension, too—individuals, terrorists, criminal gangs, or smaller nations can take on much bigger powers in cyberspace, and through it, in the physical world, as well. The effects of attacks on critical infrastructure such as electricity and water supplies are similar to those that would be caused by weapons of mass destruction, without the need for any physical attacks.
Proving attribution in cyberspace is a great challenge. In most cases, it is extremely difficult to attribute cyber attacks to nation-states, collecting irrefutable evidence. The very nature of botnets and zombies makes it difficult to do so, leading to the conclusion that “the Internet is the perfect platform for plausible deniability.”
Nations are developing cyber attack capabilities with a view to dominating cyberspace. However, unilateral dominance in cyberspace is not achievable by any country. But uncontrolled growth of cyber attack capabilities—in effect, cyber attack proliferation—is an increasingly troubling phenomenon. Yet another disturbing reality is that cyber attacks can be launched ever more easily, and propagated faster using the same broadband that nations are building for global e-commerce. Finally, the consequences of a cyber attack are more likely to be indirect and more uncertain than most scenarios currently envision; we may not always recognize the damage inflicted by cyber attackers.
Cybersecurity is a global problem that has to be addressed globally by all governments jointly. No government can fight cybercrime or secure its cyberspace in isolation. Cybersecurity is not a technology problem that can be ‘solved’; it is a risk to be managed by a combination of defensive technology, astute analysis and information warfare, and traditional diplomacy. Cyber attacks constitute an instrument of national policy at the nexus of technology, policy, law, ethics, and national security. Such attacks should spur debate and discussion, without any secrecy, both inside and outside governments at national and international levels. This is all the more so because of the growing number of significant actors not tied to, or even loosely affiliated with, nation-states. Over the last few months, events in cyberspace such as the GhostNet attacks on governments and large multinational corporations, whether to steal intellectual property or attack free speech, bear this out. They are not restricted by geographical borders or national laws.
There is an added dimension to this problem: the infrastructures are owned and operated by the private sector, and cyberspace passes through various legal jurisdictions all over the world. Each government has to engage in supporting its private sector for cybersecurity through effective public-private partnership (PPP) models, with clearly-defined roles for government and industry. Because cyberspace is relatively new, legal concepts for ‘standards of care’ do not exist. Should governments create incentives to generate collective action? For example, they could reduce liability in exchange for improved security, or introduce tax incentives, new regulatory requirements, and compliance mechanisms. Nations have to take appropriate steps in their respective jurisdictions to create necessary laws, promote the implementation of reasonable security practices, incident management, and information sharing mechanisms, and continuously educate both corporate and home users about cybersecurity.
International cooperation is essential to securing cyberspace. When it comes to tracking cyber criminals, it is not only the laws dealing with cyber crimes that must exist in various countries, but the collection of appropriate cyber forensics data in various jurisdictions and their presentation in courts of law, which are essential to bring criminals to justice in sovereign countries. The term “cybersecurity” depends upon international cooperation at the following levels:
- National nodal centers on information infrastructure, based on public-private partnerships, to cooperate;
- Global service providers such as Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Yahoo, and Facebook to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in all countries and respond to their requests for investigations;
- Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) to exchange threats and vulnerabilities data in an open way to build an early-watch-and-warning system;
- Incident management and sharing of information with a view to building an international incident response system;
- Critical-infrastructure protection: Establishment of an international clearing house for critical-infrastructure protection to share threats, vulnerabilities, and attack vectors;
- Sharing and deployment of best practices for cybersecurity;
- Creation of continued awareness on cyber threats, and international coordination as part of early-watch-and-warning system;
- Acceptable legal norms for dealing with cyber crimes regarding territorial jurisdiction, sovereign responsibility, and use of force to reconcile differing national laws concerning the investigation and prosecution of cyber crimes, data preservation, protection, and privacy. Address the problem of existing cyber laws that do not carry enforcement provisions;
- Incident response and transnational cooperation, including establishment of appropriate mechanisms for cooperation. Such measures must include provisions to respond to counter cyber terrorism, including acts of sabotage of critical infrastructure and cyber espionage through information warfare
- Law enforcement agencies to investigate cases, collect forensic evidence at the behest of other countries, and prosecute cyber criminals to bring them to justice.
It is time for the international community to start debates and discussions to encourage nations to create domestic public-private partnerships for cybersecurity, establishing laws for cyber crimes, and, more importantly, to take steps for international cooperation to secure cyberspace.
