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Information technology for peace and security : IT applications and infrastructures in conflicts, crises, war, and peace
Reuter C., Springer International Publishing, New York, NY, 2019. 448 pp. Type: Book (978-3-658256-51-7)
Date Reviewed: Jul 16 2020

A book with this title might seem to be only marginally relevant for corporate security personnel who are not fighting wars or keeping peace. However, in a typical contextual security analysis, you will find terms like “state actors” and “organized crime” to indicate powerful and resourceful adversaries. Similarly, the label “critical infrastructure” is an indicator of the threat level. This book expands and clarifies this basic context view dramatically in many directions.

The book is split into seven parts: “Introduction and Fundamentals” (60 pages), “Cyber Conflicts and War” (75 pages), “Cyber Peace” (65 pages), “Cyber Arms Control” (70 pages), “Cyber Attribution and Infrastructures” (60 pages), “Culture and Interaction” (60 pages), and “Outlook” (15 pages). Each part consists of three contributions. Each contribution provides its objectives, questions to test your understanding, and references.

A small part of the book discusses familiar topics in the civilian security community, for instance, cyber espionage, darknet, resilient infrastructures, vulnerability disclosure or trading, (social network) bots, conflict between safety and security, and perceived threat versus perception of risk. When dealing with the threat of state actors, a common feeling is this: “as state-sponsored hacking is well-funded, defensive measures are inconvenient and costly.” After reading this book, it should be clear to readers that the threat cannot be ignored.

Some ethics-related topics begging the question of responsible research and innovation are dual use of information technology (IT) and security technology, unmanned systems up to autonomous weapon systems, artificial intelligence (AI), social media systems, and social bots.

The main content of the book sheds light on the bigger issue: cyber is a war zone. Nations will defend it and look for technological superiority (see, for instance, the US goal “to defeat any adversary on any battlefield”). Information warfare is “deeply rooted in deception and psychological warfare as old as warfare itself.” Fourteen documented state-triggered cyber incidents are listed, and at least 47 countries have taken up cyber defense. A new arms race is ongoing.

Zero-day vulnerabilities are inserted, traded, and kept secret. The result: “huge amounts of money are being spent globally to deliberately keep our critical infrastructure insecure and vulnerable.” See also the nobody-but-us vulnerabilities of some major players, until some whistle-blower exposes these vulnerabilities.

For those building warfare, serious warnings are presented. Automated or autonomous systems make a big difference. In the observe-orient-decide-act cycle, what is controlled by humans? Making the systems safer introduces overhead and delays, encouraging a race to the bottom of safety. Machine decisions are not challenged because of the automation bias: just trust the computer. In a conflict, two or more AI systems trained on different datasets might decide on our future.

Cyber arms control is very different from the one in place for nuclear or biological weapons, and difficult. A recurring statement is the problem of attribution in cyberspace, an essential step for any response. Under time pressure, mistakes are highly likely.

A different discussion is about the potential conflict between safety and security: “Safety protects humans from technology; security protects technology from humans.” This clear distinction gets blurred, on purpose, by securitization: “securitization operates by turning conceivable events into expected events by medium of communication.” Securitization biases risk assessment and may turn a safety discussion into a security discussion.

The final topic, social media, must not be overlooked in this context. Social media is used as a means for cultural violence, promoting unjust social arrangements or justifying these, and for (dis)information. Fake news and social bots are two common approaches. Look at how ISIS used social media for propaganda and recruitment. Social media is also considered as “citizen journalism.” States may react passively and block social media. Alternatively, they themselves may bolster regime legitimacy using their greater power position.

The book succeeds in making things very clear: state actors are real and powerful and here to stay; IT is actively used in conflicts; IT as a battlefield is new and uncontrolled and maybe uncontrollable; attribution is mandatory but very hard to do timely; IT is not exempt from dual use; and not everything that can be built should be built. IT personnel working for critical (information) infrastructures are the first to be confronted with the consequences of this reality. The rest is likely to follow.

Reviewer:  A. Mariën Review #: CR147017 (2012-0286)
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