How Dynamics Involving International Cooperation Options Can Help Us to Better Understand Choices About Cyber Security

HOW DYNAMICS INVOLVING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OPTIONS CAN HELP US TO BETTER UNDERSTAND CHOICES ABOUT CYBER SECURITY

INTRODUCTION

Cyber security has been an issue of global public policy concern for over long period of time considerably decades. Given the growing importance of cyberspace to nearly all aspects of national life, a secure cyberspace is vitally important to every nation (P.W. Singer and Allan Friedman, 2014). Cyber security problems ranges from crime, terrorism, critical infrastructure protection and spam to attacks on cyber infrastructure. The world over has become virtually dependent on cyber systems across the full range of human activities, including commerce, finance, health care, energy, entertainment, communications, and national defense. Similarly, cybercrimes are committed in all these sectors transnationally and also the use of cyber systems for cyber war in most developed countries. It is therefore near accurate to say that cyber Security is a global problem affecting cyber systems hence an urgent need for a global panacea (David Clark, Thomas Berson, and Herbert S, 2014). International cooperation on policy options for cyber security is a matter of concern. Nonetheless, no universal definition exist on cyber security.

Cyber insecurity can result from the vulnerabilities of cyber systems, including flaws or weaknesses in both hardware and software, and from the conduct of states, groups, and individuals with access to them. It takes the forms of cyber warfare, espionage, crime, attacks on cyber infrastructure, and exploitation of cyber systems. Virtually all aspects of cyber insecurity have a transnational component, affecting users of cyber systems throughout the world (Abraham D. Sofaer, David Clark and Whitfield Diffie, 2010). The aim of this paper is to discuss issues of international cooperation options vis-à-vis policy choices about cyber security. It would seek to consider the importance of transitional cooperation on policies of cyber security and their implications.

THREATS TO CYBER SECURITY

There is indeed a positive correlation between increase in new technology and increase in cyber threats. These threats to cyber security includes online identity theft, industrial cyber espionage, critical infrastructure protection and botnets. Malicious parties capitalize on internet insecurity by engaging in online thefts such as stealing money from customer debit cards online. The insecurity of the cyberspace has also resulted in the existence of industrial espionage. Sponsored individuals and to a large extend nations have remotely gained unauthorized access to information from other companies or countries. Closely following this is also the existence of critical infrastructure protection. The insecurity of critical infrastructure has gradually let to the possible disruption of such infrastructure