Cybersecurity [What Think Tanks are thinking]

Briefing 26-10-2018

Cybersecurity was back in the spotlight earlier in October, when several Western countries issued a coordinated denunciation of Russia, accusing it of running a global hacking campaign. Moscow denied the allegations. On 4 October, the UK and the Netherlands accused Moscow of sending agents to The Hague to hack into the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, while the United States indicted suspected Russian agents for conspiring to hack computers and steal data to delegitimise international anti-doping organisations. They were also accused of trying to hack into Westinghouse Electric, a nuclear power company. Russia and other countries had earlier been accused of cyber-espionage, proliferation of fake news, and misuse of social media in some election campaigns. Cybersecurity can be defined as the protection of computer systems and mobile devices from theft and damage to their hardware, software or information, as well as from disruption or misdirection of the services they provide. This note offers links to reports and commentaries from major international think-tanks and research institutes on cyber-security and related issues. More reports on the topic can be found in a previous edition of ‘What Think Tanks are thinking’, published in April 2018.