B027088 - ICT POLICIES AND CYBERSECURITY

English

The course ICT Policies and Cybersecurity will focus on the relationships between cyberspace and international politics, with a special focus on the analysis of policies and decision-making processes related to Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) at international, regional and national level. Moreover, the course will analyze the dynamics that are at the intersection between technology and policy.

Mandatory readings:

Brantly A.F., Van Puyvelde D, Cybersecurity: Politics, Governance and Conflict in Cyberspace, Oxford, Polity Press 2019.

Gori U., Martino L. (a cura di), Intelligence e Interesse Nazionale, ARACNE Editrice, 2015.

Topic 1: Conceptualization and features of cyberspace and its effects on International Relations

D. Kuehl, “From Cyberspace to Cyberpower: Defining the Problem”, in F.D. Kramer, S.H. Starr, and L.K. Wentz (eds.), Cyberpower and National Security, Washington D.C., Potomac Books, 2009, pp. 24-42.
T. Rid, Rise of the Machines. New York, Northon & Company, 2016, chapter 2.
J.F. Kramer and B. Muller, Cyberspace and International Relations: Theory Prospects and Challenges, London, Springer, 2014, pp. 59-76 an pp. 231-252
J. Eriksson and G. Giacomello, “The Information Revolution, Security, and International Relations: (IR)relevant Theory?”, International Political Science Review, Vol. 27, No. 3, 2006, pp. 221-244.
M. Carr, “From Nuclear Weapons to Cyber Security: Breaking Boundaries. Conversation with Joseph Nye”, In C. Kaltofen, M. Carr and M. Acuto (eds.), Technologies of International Relations. Continuity and Change, Cham, Pagrave Pivot, 2019, pp. 87-96.

Recommended reading: L. Martino and I. Spadaro, Assessing the Italian National Cyber Security Index, CCSIRS (Center for Cyber Security and International Relations Studies) Policy Paper, December 2020.

Topic 2: Selected case studies of cyber war, cyber attacks, and cyber incidents: a critical analytical approach

B. Valeriano and R.C. Maness, Cyber War versus Cyber Realities, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015, pp. 20-44.
A. Greenberg, Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most Dangerous Hackers, New York, Anchor Books, 2019, Part II and Part III.
K. Zetter, Countdown to Zero Day. Stuxnet and the Launch of the World’s First Digital Weapon, New York, Crown Publishers, Chap. 4, 9, 10.

Topic 3: Dialogue over cyber warfare vs. cyber espionage, sabotage, and propaganda

A. Craig and B. Valeriano, “Conceptualising Cyber Arms Race”, 2016 8th International Conference on Cyber Conflict, pp. 141-158.
M. Dunn-Cavelty, “The miltiarisation of cyber security as a source of global tension”, in STRATEGIC TRENDS ANALYSIS, Zurich, Center for Security Studies, 2012, pp. 141-153.
J. Arquilla and D. Ronfeldt, “Cyberwar is coming!”, in J. Arquilla, D. Ronfedlt (eds.), Athena’s camp: Preparing for conflict in the information age, Santa Monica, Rand Corporation, 1997, chapter 2.
T. Rid, “Cyber War will not take place”, Journal of Strategic Studies, Vol. 35, No. 1, 2012, pp. 5-32.
H. Langø., “Slaying Cyber Dragons: Competing Academic Approaches to Cyber Security”, NUPI Working Paper 820, 2013.

Topic 4: Internet Governance and Net Neutrality

M. Carr, “Power Plays in Global Internet Governance”, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2, 2015, pp. 640-659.
L. DeNardis, The Global War for Internet Governance, Yale University Press, 2014, chapters 1, 2, 9.

Topic 5: Diplomatic Initiatives in cyberspace: international, multilateral, regional and bilateral

A. Barrinha, and T. Renard, “Cyber-diplomacy: the making of an international society in the digital age”, Global Affairs, Vol. 3, No. 4-5, December 2017, pp. 353-365.
Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, Briefing from the Research Advisory Group, 2017.
L. Martino, “Cyberspace and International Relations: Diplomatic Initiatives to Avoid the Risk of Escalation in the Cyber Arena”, European Cybersecurity Journal, Vol. 3, No. 3, 2017, pp. 53-57
F. Delerue, X. Kurowska and P. Pawlak, “Reflections on the Pre-fraft of the report of the OEWG on developments in the field of ICTs in the context of international security”, EU Cyber Direct, April 2020.

Topic 6: International law: applicability and challenges in cyberspace

M. Carr, “Cyberspace and International Order” in H. Suganami, M. Carr and A. Humphreys (eds.), The Anarchical Society At 40 Contemporary Challenges and Prospects, Oxford, Oxford University Press, chapter 10.
Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
J. Nye, “Deterrence and Dissuasion in Cyberspace”, International Security, Vol. 41, No. 3, 2017, pp. 44-71.

Topic 7: The European Union ICT policies and cyber security landscape

E. Moret and P. Pawlak, “The EU Cyber Diplomacy Toolbox: towards a cyber sanctions regime?”, EUISS, No. 24, July 2017.
H. Carrapico and A. Barriha, “The EU as a Coherent (Cyber)Security Actor?”, JMS 2017, Vol. 55, No. 6, 2017, pp. 1254-1272.
R. Bossong and B. Wagner, “A typology of cybersecurity and public-private partnerships in the context of the EU”, Crime Law and Social Change, No. 67, 2016, pp. 265-288.

Topic 8: Regulatory aspects of cybersecurity: human and organizational frameworks

A. Rashid et al., CyBOK. Cyber Security Body of Knowledge, National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), 2019, Chap. 2, 3, 4.
Framework Nazionale per la Cybersecurity e la Data Protection, 2019, https://www.cybersecurityframework.it/
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Acquisition and Sustainment, Cybersecurity Maturity Model Cerification (CMMC), Vers. 1.02, 2020.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), SP 800-100, Information Security Handbook.
K. Aiken, “Cybersecurity by executive order”, Strategic Insight ASPI, 2014.

Topic 9: Cybersecurity and New Emerging Technologies (AI, big data, robotics, quantum computing)

“Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030,” One Hundred Year Study on AI, Report of the 2015 Study Panel, Stanford University, September 2016.
B. Rhode, “Artificial Intelligence and offensive cyber weapons”, IISS Strategic Comments, Vol. 25, December 2019.
A. Polyakova, “Weapons of the Weak: Russia and AI-driven Asymmetric Warfare,” Brookings Institution, November 15, 2018, https://www.brookings.edu/research/weapons-of-the-weak-russia-and-ai-driven-asymmetric-warfare
M. J. D. Vermeer and E. D. Peet, Securing Communications in the Quantum Computing Age. Managing the Risks to Encryption, Santa Monica, Rand Corporation, 2020.
C. Lawrence and S. Cordey, “The Case for Increased Transatlantic Cooperation on Artificial Intelligence”, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (Harvard Kennedy University), August 2020.
J. Altmann and F. Sauer, “Autonomous Weapons and Strategic Stability,” Survival, Vol. 59, No. 5, October –November 2017, pp. 121-12.
P. Scharre, Autonomous Weapons and Operational Risk, Center for a New American Security, February 2016.
A. Ilachinski, AI, Robots, and Swarms: Issues, Questions, and Recommended Studies, Center for Naval Analysis, January 2017.
Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Operating Environment 2035, The Joint Force in a Contested and Disordered World, July 14, 2016.


Send an email to luigi.martino@unifi.it in order to receive the syllabus

The course will help students to understand the dynamics of cyberspace on international arena in particular addressing the new possible forms of future conflicts, political dynamics, public policies, and standard regulations. At the end of the course, students will be able to: a) analyze the risks and threats stemming from cyberspace; b) evaluate them on the basis of international relations and international law; c) understand the dynamics of cyber warfare and other cyber related threats; d) analyze the evolutions of ICT and emerging disruptive technologies; and e) be aware about the technical, market, and certification conundrum of cyber security and ICT policies.

KNOWLEDGE: The course focuses on cyberspace and its implications for private and public, sub-national, national, and international actors and entities, changes to the international system structure, and new modes of conflict and international cooperation. To this purpose, at the beginning of the course, the professor will introduce the theoretical framework which will allows students to conceptualize the basic information about ICT policies, cyber security practices, and cyberpolitics at large.

ABILITIES ACQUIRED AT THE END OF THE COURSE: The main aim of the course is to provide students with specific "knowledge tools" in order to analyze autonomously issues, scenarios and research topics related to the implications of cyberspace in the international politics.

CAPACITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE: Students will be required to read proposed readings, conduct research and present the result of the research with appropriate technical, professional and oral skills.

None

Seminars and discussions of students' presentations.

Students are expected to participate actively in the course.

Classes are scheduled as following:
Monday 2:30-4:00 pm
Thursday 9:00-10:30 am
Friday 9:00-10:30 am

Attending Students

For those who have followed the lessons regularly, the final exam will be structured as follows: they will have to present a research paper (i.e. position paper) addressing research topics which must be agreed with the professor. Paper will be presented and discussed with the class. Final grade will be assigned on the basis of the students' class presentations and paper's discussion.


NON-attending students
Non attending students will take an oral exam on readings suggested by the professor.
Students who do not regularly attend class will be assessed through a mixed evaluation based on the research paper and oral exam.

The course ICT Policies and Cybersecurity will analyze the emerging interactions between cyberspace and international politics, with particular attention to the analysis of the policies adopted to improve the cyber security capabilities of the international systems' actors (public and private) at international, regional and national level.
The course, through a multidisciplinary approach, will focus on the study of the effects of cyberspace on international relations. In particular, the course is composed of three sections: the first section entails the theoretical and conceptual introduction of cyberspace; the second part will analyze empirical case studies of multilateral and bilateral diplomatic initiatives implemented with the aim of mitigating the risks of political and military escalation in cyberspace; the third section will be focused on the international regulatory and standardization frameworks adopted in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT). Finally, in order to complete the academic and analytical offer, the course will host external lectures.
Topics of the Course will be:
Conceptualization and features of cyberspace and its effects on International Relations
Selected case studies of cyber war, cyber attacks, and cyber incidents: a critical analytical approach
Dialogue over cyber warfare vs. cyber espionage, sabotage and propaganda
Internet Governance and Net Neutrality
Diplomatic Initiatives in cyberspace: international, multilateral, regional and bilateral
International law: applicability and challenges in cyberspace
The European Union ICT policies and cyber security landscape
Regulatory aspects of cybersecurity: human and organizational frameworks
Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies (AI, big data, robotics, quantum computing)