Science, Technology, and Public Policy

China's new cybersecurity law is part of a worrying global trend towards Internet Balkanisation, writes Scott Shackelford.

Cyber Security Project Director Michael Sulmeyer and Project Affiliate Amy Chang discuss their observations on China's Approach to cyber after a recent visit to Beijing. Sulmeyer and Chang were part of a small group of American academics and goernment representatives to meet with Chinese counterparts about contemporary issues in cybersecurity.

Russian cyber operations against the United States aim to both collect information and develop offensive capabilities against future targets. Washington must strengthen its defenses in response.

"But what about deterring operations that are not equivalent to an armed attack? There are grey areas in which important targets, say, a free political process, are not strategically vital in the same way as the electrical grid or the financial system. Destroying the latter two could damage lives and property; interference with the former threatens deeply held political values."

"...[A]ctors that employ gray tactics in cyber operations need not be successful in actually infiltrating a system to further their revisionist ambitions. Rather, the sheer ramifications from the cyber action itself, has the power to disturb a nation's psyche and challenge the geopolitical status quo."

This paper addresses a growing concern to one of the most fundamental components of our democracy: how cybersecurity risks can influence the integrity of our elections.

"Admittedly, international norms do not blossom into fully-grown gardens overnight. What the CEPP Test does offer, however, is a proverbial seed, which if properly cultivated could take root in the international legal system."