Search

Begin New Search Topic Cybersecurity Publication Year within 5 Years

191. Ukraine Cybersecurity Governance Assessment

Author:
Natalia Spinu
Publication Date:
10-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
This report is a two-factor analysis of cybersecurity: the legislative framework, and key national actors in cybersecurity. It describes the main cybersecurity threats in Ukraine and the needs arising from its national security objectives. The present assessment paper describes the normative and legislative framework of the Ukraine, which covers the main aspects of information security and ensures a level of national security of the population, while mentioning the main objectives of the national cybersecurity strategy as well as the main actors and stakeholders in the national cybersecurity.
Topic:
Security, National Security, Governance, and Cybersecurity
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

192. Do IT Tools Help Develop Community Policing? Lessons Learned from the Implementation of The National Security Threat Map in Poland

Author:
Robert Gawlowski, Mariusz Kubiak, Juliusz Piwowarski, and Dariusz Minikiewicz
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
In many countries, the police, as a part of public administration, have witnessed many changes during the last few years. This article explores the process of the reform of the Polish police force, which took place between 2015 and 2017. Doing so examines in detail the process of implementing an IT tool – The National Security Threat Map – by paying particular attention to the mechanism of engaging external stakeholders. This study is conceptual but empirically focused. The paper posits that, despite the hierarchical nature of the police administration structure, it is possible to build an engagement of external stakeholders.
Topic:
Security, National Security, Cybersecurity, Police, and Information Technology
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

193. Cybersecurity Politics – Conceptualization of the Idea

Author:
Marek Gorka
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The cybersecurity issue discussed in the paper is seen from the perspective of political science with the indication that the subject under discussion concerns the multifaceted nature of the state’s actions, which consists of political, economic, social, and cultural factors. At the same time, the work also intends to prove that cybersecurity is not only a domain of technology because it is the mentioned aspects that shape the conditions of stable development of the state and its citizens in a space dominated by cyber technology in a much more decisive way. Given the growing role of cybertechnology in almost all areas of human life, its importance also forces and inspires political science to question the shape and model of modern policy, which is significantly evolving under the influence of new technologies. On the one hand, emerging cyber threats reveal the weakness of the state and the dependence of state institutions on cybertechnologies, but on the other hand, existing cyber incidents may also motivate many governments to take action to increase the level of cybersecurity.
Topic:
Security, International Cooperation, Politics, Cybersecurity, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Global Focus

194. Competition for High Politics in Cyberspace: Technological Conflicts Between China and the USA

Author:
Karina Veronica Val Sanchez and Nezir Akyeşilmen
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
This paper highlighted the use of cyberspace as a conflict zone by the US and China, focusing on competition in various technological spheres, including cyberespionage, military technology, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The main purpose of this study was to depict how great powers manipulate the cyber domain for their high political objectives through US-China rivalry. The research has been carried out mainly via literature review, discourse analysis, and relevant statistics. Consistent with previous literature and global public perception, the outcome has shown that both states are using cyberspace as a new domain for completion in trade, technology, and military purposes. Cyberespionage, the militarization of cyberspace, and AI have been the main conflict areas between these two global competitors in the last decade.
Topic:
Security, Science and Technology, Military Strategy, Cybersecurity, Conflict, Strategic Competition, and Information Technology
Political Geography:
China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

195. Cybercrime on the Example of Selected Botnets

Author:
Przemysław Mazurczak
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The article presents threat analysis resulting from botnet activity on the Internet. Botnet networks are a very common tool among cybercriminals. They enable the acquisition of large amounts of data from computers infected with the virus that creates the given network entirely subordinated to its creator. Currently, many unidentified botnets are a threat to Internet users. Those identified and diagnosed answer the problem of how dangerous a botnet is in the hands of cybercriminals. The article presents statistics and analysis of selected botnets. Currently, there is a decline in the interest in botnets in cybercrime, although many new threats appear, suggesting that botnets will continue to be popular and are still a dangerous weapon in the hands of criminals.
Topic:
Security, Crime, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Digitalization
Political Geography:
Global Focus

196. Fake News and the Europeanization of Cyberspace

Author:
Krzysztof Wasilewski
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
As both the European Union and its member states acknowledge that the proliferation of fake news threatens their political stability and – consequently – the general idea of European integration – they have undertaken many steps to confront that problem. Them, the article examines how EU institutions, together with the member states, have tackled the spread of disinformation within the common policy of cybersecurity. The novelty of this study is that it does so concerning the ongoing process of Europeanization of cyberspace, combining the field of information technology with European studies.
Topic:
Security, International Cooperation, European Union, Cybersecurity, and Media
Political Geography:
Europe

197. How To Retain Election Officials To Secure Future Elections

Author:
David Levine
Publication Date:
06-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMFUS)
Abstract:
The 2020 presidential election was called the most secure in U.S. history, largely due to efforts to protect the nation’s different physical and cyber infrastructure. This was a triumph considering the physical, cyber, and even human assets that make up the election infrastructure have been and continue to be susceptible to threats. In 2020, many states adopted measures to mitigate threats to physical and cyber election assets like voting equipment, ballots, and facilities, as well as computer services and databases that store voter information. For example, states with close results in the 2020 presidential race had paper records of each vote, which gave them the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. Other measures such as pre-election testing, state and federal certification of voting equipment, and increased collaboration between election officials and their security partners helped provide additional assurance that the 2020 election results were legitimate. Unfortunately, analogous measures were not in place to protect many of the people—from state and local election administrators to poll workers and vendor staff—who administered the elections. Due in large part to the incendiary rhetoric from former President Donald Trump and his followers, many election officials were threatened and harassed, and such behavior shows no signs of abating. Instead of taking steps to address this problem, many states have passed or are considering passing laws that could make this problem worse. Georgia’s new law removed the Georgia’s secretary of state—who rejected Donald Trump’s effort’s to overturn the state’s 2020 results—from decision-making power on the state election board and turned control of the board over to a politicized, less knowledgeable body: the state legislature. Iowa’s new law threatens election officials with criminal prosecution for failing to follow new voting rules. And Florida recently adopted a rule that subjects its local election officials to a civil penalty of $25,000 if a drop box at an early voting site is left accessible for the return of ballots outside of early voting hours. The unrelenting targeting of administrators—along with unfunded election mandates, threats, burn out, and fatigue—has pushed many election officials to leave or consider leaving their positions. According to a recent Democracy Fund/Reed College Survey of Local Election Officials, approximately one-third of chief local election officials will be eligible to retire before the 2024 election, including more than half of those in the largest jurisdictions, which each serve more than 250,000 registered voters. Considering what many of these election officials and their staffs endured during the 2020 election cycle, and continue to experience, it would be unwise to simply wait and hope that they decide to hang on. Instead, every effort should be made to create an environment that is as conducive as possible for retaining these unsung heroes of the 2020 elections. The ability of the United States to conduct future secure elections may well depend on it. This paper focuses on measures state and local governments can take in concert with their election offices to help retain as many of their high-performing election officials as possible. State and local governments should have support from the federal government and Congress to help address this national security issue, but if the fight over funding the 2020 election is any indication, they should begin taking steps to address this problem now. Below are ten suggestions for how state and local governments can retain their high-performing election officials. None is a “silver bullet,” not all of them will be relevant for each state and local government unit, and some governments have already taken many of these steps. But in addressing election official retention solutions, these suggestions provide remedies for some of the thorniest problems that election officials encounter.
Topic:
Politics, Infrastructure, Elections, and Cybersecurity
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

198. "Is the Internet Trying to Kill Us?" And other Technology Security Unknowns In the New Roaring Twenties

Author:
Miles Taylor
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
Machines are poised to transform life as we know it... and America isn’t ready. A hundred years ago, machines remade the world. Society in the 1920s was transformed by a proliferation of cars, radios, movies, and airplanes, dramatically altering the way we lived, worked, and played. We did not know it then, but the sweeping technology revolution was poised to change the way we fought, too. The 1930s saw a revolution in military affairs as warfare became deadlier and faster-paced, a foreseeable consequence of the previous decade’s innovations.278 This nevertheless caught many nations by surprise, such as those affected by the German blitzkrieg. We are entering a New Roaring Twenties, and again we are unprepared for how it will affect national security in the decades to come. Make no mistake: today’s innovations will be tomorrow’s economic drivers, which is why we should be actively investing in the bleeding-edge tech of the future. But we must also be vigilant about how such developments will affect our security at home and reshape international conflict, or else risk a reordering of the global balance of power. This article previews several emerging technology dilemmas, what’s being done about them, and why—in some cases—it’s already too late.
Topic:
Security, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, Internet, and Innovation
Political Geography:
Global Focus

199. Bringing Down the Hammer On Chinese Tech

Author:
Dawn M. K. Zoldi
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
Law is what you must do; policy is what you should do. With regard to country-of-origin bans on technology, either one has the effect of the proverbial hammer. Of late, the U.S. government has been wielding that hammer consistently against China in what amounts to an all-out tech war. The most visible fronts have involved Huawei, ByteDance (TikTok), and TenCent (WeChat). However, a lesser-known conflict relating to the commercial drone sector involves Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), a Chinese technology company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It is a three-pronged assault based on cybersecurity, national security, and human rights concerns. Will the U.S. commercial drone ecosystem get hammered in this conflict?
Topic:
Human Rights, National Security, Science and Technology, Cybersecurity, and Drones
Political Geography:
China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

200. Russian New and Experimental Nuclear-Capable Missiles: A Short Primer

Author:
Christopher Mihal
Publication Date:
12-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Fletcher Security Review
Institution:
The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Abstract:
Russia has tested a wide variety of new weapon systems in an effort to modernize and upgrade its nuclear forces. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been shy about publicly discussing these new weapon systems or the capabilities of several of them, though a few are not currently feasible for any sort of deployment. More of a threat, however, are the two weapons that Putin did not boast about: the SSC8 and SSC-X-31, both of which were almost certainly in violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. While these missiles represent a threat in and of themselves, a far greater threat is the indication that Russia does not feel bound by international agreements. These missiles have already had their first successful casualty in the death of the INF Treaty, and they may have also dealt a mortal blow to the New START Treaty. To adequately understand Russia’s new nuclear arsenal, one must simultaneously look at the weapon systems themselves as well as the context in which they are being developed. Russia continues to view both the U.S. and NATO as supreme existential threats. Unfortunately for Russia, both the U.S. and NATO have greater military, political, and economic power, and so Russia has long sought avenues to achieve its national objectives without conventional military confrontation.386 Russia has turned to two primary means of ensuring supremacy: enhancing its nuclear arsenal, which it views as a powerful deterrent that is cheaper to maintain than a large conventional military, as well as ‘hybrid’ war, which encompasses a number of techniques just shy of war including cyber warfare, informatsionaya voyna (information warfare) and a large amount of maskirovka (deception) in both military and non-military realms.387 Putin has emphasized information control and manipulation since coming to power, ranging from direct methods such as election interference and masking the identity of irregular forces in Ukraine, to more subtle methods of dezinformatsiya (disinformation), of which the exaggerated capabilities of Russia’s new nuclear weapons are prime examples. Dezinformatsiya is using false or misleading information and disseminating it to credible news outlets. This causes opponents to either act upon the incorrect information, thus wasting time and resources, or it undermines the credibility of the news outlet when it is proven false.388 Both of these goals of dezinformatsiya are being met with the current furor regarding Russia’s new nuclear weapons. This primer aims to dispel some of the false or misleading claims regarding these weapons and present a factual foundation from which to react to Russia’s new weapon developments and how they fit into Russia’s strategic vision.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, National Security, Nuclear Weapons, Cybersecurity, and Weapons
Political Geography:
Russia, Eurasia, and United States of America