Abstract
This paper focuses on key economic and social factors underpinning worldwide issues aroundcybersecurity and, identifies a new agenda for addressing these issues that is being shaped by theInternet and related information and communication technologies, such as social media. All actorsin the widening ecology of the Internet require a better social and cultural understanding ofcybersecurity issues in order to effectively engage all relevant stakeholders in processes aimed atenhancing cybersecurity. The problems tied to cybersecurity are not new, but as the Internetbecomes ever more essential to everyday life and work, and empowers users as never before, thereare new social and economic aspects of the challenges to achieving a secure, open and globalInternet that require much more focused attention. For years, computer scientists and engineershave recognized that cybersecurity is not merely an engineering and computer science problem,but also an economic and behavioral challenge. But recognition of the fact that cybersecuritycannot be successfully addressed with technical solutions alone, is not sufficient. It is critical that economists and other social and behavioral scientists engage in this area and address the practices of a wider range of actors in local and global arenas who need strategies that provide feasible and practical steps for securing the Internet and the incentives and mindsets to take them.
Highlights
Cybersecurity concerns the “technologies, processes, and policies that help to prevent and/or reduce the negative impact of events in cyberspace that can happen as the result of deliberate actions against information technology by a hostile or malevolent actor” (Clark et al 2014: 2)
Security can no longer be viewed discretely, as it is closely connected with other issues, such as privacy and surveillance, as noted above, and with the risks associated with the new media generally, such as threats tied to the use of social media
Recognition of the global scale and interdependence of these issues is critical to avoiding the risks of a fragmentation of governance that could undermine local and global initiatives, around cybersecurity, and around all the issues tied to the Internet, from the privacy of individuals to the vitality of global commerce
Summary
Cybersecurity concerns the “technologies, processes, and policies that help to prevent and/or reduce the negative impact of events in cyberspace that can happen as the result of deliberate actions against information technology by a hostile or malevolent actor” (Clark et al 2014: 2). The cybercriminal underworld has developed an increasingly differentiated organization, with specialists emerging in the harvesting of addresses, the development of malware, assembly and leasing out of botnets, market places for stolen data, and multiple ways to monetize illegal transactions (Holt 2012) This division of labor among specialists has increased the sophistication and virulence of attack tools while reducing their price (Franklin et al 2007). Well as to a secure, open and global Internet has been and will remain great, initiatives to address growing problems with cybersecurity face several new challenges that require contributions from many more disciplines and actors.
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