PADM 5450. International Public and NGO Management

12. Cybersecurity and the Internety

7, 9 November 2023

The most recent problem of the apocalypse is what is usually termed cybersecuirity. This refers to issues of how the Internet, which is essentially borderless, can be used by governments or, more importantly, by non-governmental actors, to affect how people live and how states function. This can be cyberwarfare, where one country attacks another’s infrastructure, to cybercrime. The Internet has only been in existence, on a large scale, for some twenty years, and the international system has not yet come to terms with dealing with its governance, other than in a few areas particularly related to crime. It also has human rights dimensions that deal with whether or how states can regulate Internet content and use. This relates to the issue of social media over the Internet and freedom of expression as well as misinformation. There are national approaches that have not yet reached international agreement.

Questions covered	What are the cybersecurity issues? To what extent can individual states regulate the Internet? What would international internet governance involve? Where are we today?
Lecture	Cybersecurity and the Internet lecture
Required readings	Secretary-General’s Road Map for Digital Cooperation Marietje Schaake, “The Lawless Realm: Countering the Real Cyberthreat”, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2020. Internet Governance Forum, The Internet of Trust, Chair’s Summary and IGF Message from the Thirteenth IGF, 2018 " Who controls the conversation: How to deal with free speech on social media", The Economist, 22 October 2020 (In course Canvas). Justin Muzinich, “America’s Crypto Conundrum: Protecting Security Without Crushing Innovation”, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2021 (In course Canvas) Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes Cybersecurity, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism F.C.C. Moves Toward Restoring Net Neutrality Rules, Igniting Regulatory Fight (In course Canvas) Mathiason, Chapter 2, "Internet Goverance" (in course Canvas)
Recommended readings	Check out the Internet Governance Forum site on the preparations for the 2022 IGF from 28 November to 2 December in Ethiopia.
Discussion questions	What are the main problems with cybersecurty? What is the role of international organizations in cybersecurity? What are the main advantages of the Internet Governance Forum?
On-line session recording	7 and 9 November recordings are found in the course Canvas

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John R. Mathiason

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Revised: October 23, 2023 .