On Feb. 3rd, 2012, Peter Apps reported for Reuters on the possibility of a new cold war over cybersecurity. The article explained how there is an increasing gulf between the Chinese/Russians and western states over cybersecurity. Notably, the Chinese turned down an invitation to a cybersecurity conference held in London, citing a "low tide" in relations with the US military. The Russians pulled out of that very same conference. The article also referenced the London conference on cybersecurity–and the finger-pointing that resulted from it–as evidence of a "non-flexible attitude from both the West and East."
The article pointed out that West and East have differing objectives in, and ways of, looking at cyberspace. Specifically, the West wants to address intellectual property theft and cyber-espionage, and views the internet as a means to increase communication and innovation. On the other hand, the East has "little appetite to tackle data theft", wants a "code of conduct" that gives national governments more regulatory control of the internet, and sees the internet as a US construct that (especially in China's case) could threaten domestic stability.
The article quoted Christoper Painter, the US State Dept. lead official on cyber: "There are obviously some very different visions of the future of the Internet… On intellectual theft, I'm not going to single out China or Russia but it's obviously something we take very seriously."
Interesting tidbit: the article suggested using the US military buildup in Southeast Asia as a bargaining chip with China over cybersecurity.
You can find the Reuters source article here.
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