Abstract
Cyberspace is a constantly evolving and expanding environment that is being used for an ever-increasing range of purposes. As such, it attracts numerous threat actors seeking to identify and exploit its vulnerabilities. In order to be able to fully mitigate the risk of compromise, it is necessary to first understand the nature and composition of cyberspace and how it is used. This chapter seeks to address this issue by presenting a method to model cyberspace in three dimensions with humans included as an integral part. Expanding beyond describing cyberspace purely in terms of technology and its uses, it explores geographic, political, and temporal aspects to reflect its dynamic nature. The first component of the model examines the varied attributes of cyberspace ranging from the landscape in which its components are located to how they are used. The second dimension investigates the path of data in all its forms from its source to destination, emphasising that cyberspace is fundamentally a communications medium and is not borderless. Thirdly, it focuses on the security dimension and the motivations of those with malicious intent, demonstrating the multidisciplinary and essentially human nature of cybersecurity in countering their activities.
Highlights
The role of cybersecurity is well understood and has become the basis for a thriving and successful industry
The inclusion of a third dimension to the model of cyberspace considers the range of security threats and how risks can be mitigated. This is important as it demonstrates that cybersecurity training requirements may need to accommodate a wide range of factors
These depend on a thorough understanding of the risk, which differ depending on how cyberspace is used and that it is not just one big network with similar properties throughout
Summary
The role of cybersecurity is well understood and has become the basis for a thriving and successful industry. Accepting that this agreed definition was a significant step for the alliance, this characterisation of cyberspace is very narrow and focuses on technology at the expense of other important attributes It does have its uses though as it underpins the foundation for defining the future military response to cyber threats and inform the training required to counter them. Earlier work to characterise and define cyberspace in terms of a number of vertical layers is examined This demonstrates how attempts to explain this man-made environment have evolved and developed. The inclusion of a third dimension to the model of cyberspace considers the range of security threats and how risks can be mitigated This is important as it demonstrates that cybersecurity training requirements may need to accommodate a wide range of factors. These depend on a thorough understanding of the risk, which differ depending on how cyberspace is used and that it is not just one big network with similar properties throughout
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