Adam Segal
Keeping Safe in Cyberspace
In
In response, analysts and policymakers have suggested that
But a grand bargain won't be struck anytime soon. Both
INTERNET IDEOLOGY
In
But
Cyberattacks also help
PLAYING DEFENSE
Given the obstacles standing in the way of a grand bargain,
This is a problem, since the rash of successful attacks over the last five years suggests that U.S. firms need all the help they can get against their highly capable Chinese foes. A mix of government regulations and incentives could push American companies to spend more on security. But since attackers will breach defenses anyway, these companies need to do a better job of protecting intellectual property and trade secrets. They should take inventory of all data stored digitally, remove critical information from vulnerable servers, limit the time hackers are able to spend on networks by deploying effective intrusion systems, and lure attackers into so-called honeypots, decoy computers sometimes baited with fake data.
More aggressive measures may be in order but for now are legally and strategically difficult.
Last March, the Obama administration considered using cyberattacks to disable
Now that U.S. intelligence officials have identified the specific groups behind some of the attacks the country has faced,
CREATING CONSENSUS
Even as the U.S. government attempts to defend itself against Chinese hackers, it must also work directly with the Chinese government to try to solve the problem. It has taken some preliminary steps in this direction. In
Yet these official bilateral discussions are not expansive enough. Diplomats should take their cues from the planned dialogue on cyberspace between
Negotiations on these topics are likely to be protracted and held hostage to the overall state of the U.S.-Chinese relationship. In the past, military-to-military discussions have often been canceled by one side or the other to signal displeasure. Confidence-building measures that reduce mutual irritants, such as a recent joint effort to reduce junk e-mail, are more likely to be sustainable. In the same vein, as
Perhaps more promising than these incipient discussions with
Companies and governments should also call out
The U.S. government should also keep lending a hand to other countries so that they can fight cybercrime on their own, especially those developing countries that lack the relevant expertise. In
Assembling an international consensus on norms about cyberspace, however, is a strategy that will probably take a long time to pay off, if it ever does. There is little
(AUTHOR BIO:
Twitter: @ihavenet
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