June 2, 2016 – The internet has fundamentally changed modern societies, emphasized Thomas Rid, Martin Libicki, and Mikko Hypponen speaking at the International Conference on Cyber Conflict today in Tallinn. Each detailed how cyberspace impacts everyday life.
“The internet has no geography,” said F-Secure’s chief research officer Mikko Hypponen explaining how the internet created a future where tangible enemies cease to exist. “By developing the internet, mankind opened up a whole new way of waging war. Cyber war,” explained Hypponen. The term ‘cyber war,’ however, is often used inaccurately, he highlighted, as most attacks are about spying or stealing.
“The distance between system and environment becomes arbitrary,” said Thomas Rid, professor at King’s College London and author of the forthcoming Rise of the Machines explaining that as computers became more prevalent in society and increasingly interconnected, conflict was inevitable.
“You can collect a great deal of information and distribute a great deal of information online. You do not need to generate mass effects to have the ability generate personalized effects,” Professor Martin Libicki of RAND and a distinguished visiting professor at the U.S. Naval College explained the effects of microtargeting. Mobile phones and social media with its detailed information flow are particularly useful, Libicki said.
CyCon brings together over 500 decision-makers and experts from government, academia and industry from all over the world to approach the conference’s key theme from legal, technology and strategy perspectives. CyCon adheres to the highest standards in academic research. CyCon will publish this year’s proceedings as an IEEE publication, as part of a family of the world’s leading technical literature in electrical engineering, computer science and electronics. Further information as well as proceedings, videos and presentations can be found at www.cycon.org.
The International Conference on Cyber Conflict is organized by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. The Tallinn-based international military organisation is a NATO-accredited knowledge hub, think-tank and training facility. It focuses on interdisciplinary applied research and development, as well as consultations, trainings and exercises in the field of cyber security. The Centre’s mission is to enhance capability, cooperation and information-sharing between NATO, Allies and partners in cyber defence. The Centre is staffed and financed by its sponsoring nations and contributing participants. The Centre is not part of NATO command or force structure, nor is it funded from the NATO budget. Many of the Centre’s publications, as well as a number of interactive databases, are accessible through www.ccdcoe.org.
Selected Cycon 2016 keynotes will be broadcast live at https://ccdcoe.org/cycon/cycon-2016-video-feed.html. Short video of the event is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1i36IEB9bc&index=3&list=PLV8RTnZwQxck_Ez4kqsOHy7_1_kXa468H.
Photos are free to use as long as the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and Kristi Kamenik are credited: https://ccdcoe.org/gallery/set/72157669176206915.html
Twitter: #CyCon (or follow @CCDCOE)