Cyber Competition and Global Stability

Abstract

A paradigm shift in world order has been underway for nearly three decades. Microelectronics and networked computing systems have resulted in a compression of time and space. The consequence has meant an unprecedented global interconnectedness and interdependence never before known among peoples and locales. Underpinning new possibilities for economic development and innovation are vulnerable and unstable information and communication technology (ICT), operational technology (OT) and Platform IT (PIT) infrastructures which holistically are termed “cyberspace.” This domain is essential to economic development, national security, public safety, and modern civic discourse worldwide. Vulnerabilities in this fragile ecosystem are exploited constantly by governments, extremist organizations, and criminal groups. The terrain is blurred between public and private entities. Targets and exploits are in a constant state of upgrade, and competitors may be indistinct and ubiquitous. This chapter offers an analysis of the altering landscape of political, military, and economic competition in and by means of cyber. The chapter will outline societal dependence on IT, OT, and PIT. It will conclude with suggestions for how the global community may manage risks to assure cyber is an economic enabler enhancing human prosperity rather than a source of global instability and conflict.

This chapter offers an update and compression of some key themes found in Jarmon, Jack and Pano Yannakogeorgos. 2018. The Cyber Threat and Globalization. New York: Rowman Littlefield.