Issues on cybersecurity and international relations have been on the rise and have been deemed top-priority after a wide range of cyber attacks were launched not only across the United States but also across the world. In the context of global affairs, scholars have been seeking opportunities for further research on the evolving trends of cyber security and how these findings can contribute to the creation and application of effective policies.
Lawfare has released a curated list that identifies publications relating to cybersecurity and its implications for international relations. Scholars from China, Russia, France and Switzerland, to name a few, contributed to the listing of reports and documents to further understand the international aspect of cybersecurity and contribute to policy- and decision-making.
While former U.S. President Barack Obama openly accused North Korea of hacking Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Democratic National Committee was also hacked by the Russian government. Confidential emails were also leaked during the 2016 presidential elections in the U.S., pushing cyber security and international relations to become a top global issue.
With at least one-third of the world’s population gaining access to the Internet, it is only expected that malicious intentions to exploit the network will increase. Subsequently, there has been an upsurge of publications on cyber security and international relations, touching on aspects such as policy, military and industry, among others. A wide range of terms are being broadly used, such as cyber crime, cyber attacks and even cyber terrorism.
Even states have shared differing viewpoints on cybersecurity and international relations, and the ways with which cyber capabilities should be used. With the Internet being considered a new aspect of warfare, policies relating to network and data protection, IT system modernization and cooperation from the private sector are expected to be implemented under President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a recent ZDNet interview with former National Security Agency (NSA) director Keith Alexander, the retired general praised the president for his approach towards ensuring cybersecurity over national and international relations.
"That's the president our nation needs -- somebody who is looking how to solve cybersecurity issues... He understood they're important, that we've got to fix government, got to get government and industry to work together,” Alexander said during the RSA Conference in San Francisco.
