A treaty for cyberspace

With the shift from “geekspace” to “battlespace,” cyberspace provides new threats to national security along with all of its useful information and telecommunications applications. The internet is a new site for competition among states, and several countries have made plans for offensive cyber warfare measures around the idea that attack is the best defense. But it is unclear how the rules of traditional conflict should apply in cyberconflict. Thus this report makes the case for a cyber treaty with support from many countries. A global accord as an international response to the challenges of cybersecurity could help to prevent the cyber domain from becoming the go to arena for settling international conflicts that cannot be solved though diplomacy. However, the issue non-state actors such as terrorist groups using cyber warfare is still a concern for governance institutions. This report briefly reviews how the United Kingdom, South Korea, India, China, Russia, and Israel are among established or upcoming world powers developing offensive and defensive cyberspace abilities.