Cybersecurity and its discontents: Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and digital misinformation
| Date | 01 June 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702018782496 |
| Published date | 01 June 2018 |
| Author | Alex S Wilner |
| Subject Matter | Policy Brief |
Policy Brief
International Journal
2018, Vol. 73(2) 308–316
Cybersecurity and its
! The Author(s) 2018
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discontents: Artificial
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702018782496
intelligence, the Internet
journals.sagepub.com/home/ijx
of Things, and digital
misinformation
Alex S Wilner
Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA),
Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
The future of cybersecurity is in flux. Artificial intelligence challenges existing notions
of security, human rights, and governance. Digital misinformation campaigns leverage
fabrications and mistruths for political and geostrategic gain. And the Internet of
Things—a digital landscape in which billions of wireless objects from smart fridges to
smart cars are tethered together—provides new means to distribute and conduct
cyberattacks. As technological developments alter the way we think about cybersecur-
ity, they will likewise broaden the way governments and societies will have to learn to
respond. This policy brief discusses the emerging landscape of cybersecurity in Canada
and abroad, with the intent of informing public debate and discourse on emerging cyber
challenges and opportunities.
Keywords
Cybersecurity, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, misinformation
‘‘Cybersecurity’’ is a contentious word. Some experts shy away from using it.
‘‘The term is losing popularity among professionals,’’ explains Jeff Lewis, director
of the Security Operations Centre (SOC) at 2Keys Corporation in Ottawa, Canada,
‘‘in part because it does not really convey any meaning beyond a trendy marketing
tagline. Information security,’’ he continues, is ‘‘more appropriate at describing the
intent
of
the
endeavour[:] . . . protecting
the
confidentiality,
integrity
and
Corresponding author:
Alex S Wilner, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Carleton University, River
Building, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada.
Email: alex.wilner@carleton.ca
Wilner
309
availability of information.’’1 Securing digital information has long been at the core
of cybersecurity, so stripping away the jargon clarifies the intent. And yet, emerging
concerns in cyberspace do not revolve around information security alone. In this
regard, the term’s breadth remains useful.
Cybersecurity is evolving. Technological innovation in artificial intelligence
(AI), cloud computing, big data analytics, quantum mechanics, the Internet of
Things (IoT), blockchain, and other software and hardware applications ensures
that contemporary cybersecurity will remain in flux. New malicious code, and
novel ways to purchase it via ‘‘cypto-bazaars’’ located on the dark web, gains
notoriety on a consistent basis. Moreover, new hardware and software weaknesses
are regularly uncovered. The consequences of both are widespread. The 2017
BlueBorne scare, for instance, which remotely infects Bluetooth-enabled devices,
and the 2018 Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, which affect microprocessor
chips, pose exploitable threats to billions of personal computers and mobile devices.
Add to this mix new or improved strategies for conducting cyberattacks, including
ransomware attacks like WannaCry that extort payment by encrypting and
threatening to destroy private data, and the surreptitious theft of processing
power to generate cryptocurrency, and the security landscape dims further. At
the same time, billions of users flock to social media: in mid-2017 Facebook
reached 2 billion monthly users, and YouTube reached 1.5 billion. Greater digital
connectivity is driving social change and restructuring international governance,
power, commerce, and finance along the way.
Cybersecurity captures all of this disparate evolution. Information security is an
important sub-theme therein, but so are concerns over digitalizing hardware (the
IoT), digital misinformation campaigns (cyber propaganda), and the emerging
relationship between AI and human rights, governance, and digital security (the
cyber–AI nexus). This policy brief will discuss the emerging landscape of cyberse-
curity in Canada and abroad by focusing on these three themes. The intent is to
inform public debate and discourse on emerging cyber challenges and
opportunities.
IoT gone wild
The first concern involves the emergence of billions of tethered, wireless objects,
which will complicate how we think about and practice cybersecurity in the coming
years. The IoT is a digital landscape that connects everyday objects to each other.
Private sector assessments suggest a plethora of devices will be going online soon.
Everything from your fridge to your child’s toys, from your home thermostat to
your pacemaker, will be linked online, forming an intricate web of sensors, data,
and machinery. Many of these devices are engineered primarily to be user-friendly
and cheap; cybersecurity is not a priority.
1.
Author interview, Ottawa, August 2017.
310
International Journal 73(2)
The problem is that these devices can be corrupted, hacked, and attacked. In
June 2017, in an apparent first, a US casino lost data after hackers used an IoT fish
tank—which allowed owners to monitor the tank remotely—to gain access to the
casino’s larger network. At some point in the near future, as more IoT devices go
online, this sort of activity may become commonplace. And yet, by some stand-
ards, using IoT devices to steal personal or financial data is a minor concern. More
pressing is the use of IoT technology to conduct more disruptive and global net-
work attacks. The 2016 Dyn cyberattack is a good example. Dyn is a company that
provides online infrastructure, domain registration, and email services. During the
attack, hackers used Mirai malware to infect hundreds of thousands of online
devices, from baby monitors to routers, and lassoed them into a botnet—a port-
manteau of ‘‘robot’’...
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