Breaking the cybersecurity dilemma: Balancing national security and human security in cyberspace
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Date
2015-04-17
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University of Ghana
Abstract
In today's world the ubiquity of cyberspace brings cyber-threats and
the measures to counter them to the apex of the modern security
dialogue. In the post-Snowden era, national approaches to
cybersecurity seem to be sparking a 'digital arms race' rather than
fostering more security. Hence cyberspace presents a dilemma of epic
proportions which challenges the traditional notions of state-centric
security within the arena of international relations. The reason for this
is the supranational architecture of cyberspace which makes it
difficult for states to unilaterally securitize existing and emergent
cyber-threats. It would be shown that when the individual is presented
as a threat actor rather than the referent object of security,
cyber-insecurity arises. Since cyberspace is a confluence of the human
and electromagnetic operating environments, colonized by a multiplicity
of actors, the security actions of states affect both the system
and the actors within it. Furthermore, the intent of securing
cyberspace through its militarization and balkanization would
engender anarchy within this land of binary code, along with its
unintended effect of increasing tensions within the comity of nations.
One of the conundrums in cyberspace is that its' use as an operational
domain for surveillance and cyber-warfare increases the threat
exposure of citizens, the very people the state is sworn to protect. This
paper interrogates the cybersecurity dilemma and explores the utility
of the application of human security to cyberspace
Description
School of social sciences colloquium
Keywords
cybersecurity, cyber-threats, modern security, digital arms race