Cyber war among Great Powers

The Centre for Global Security Challenges (CGSC) welcomes Dr Harel Menashri for a “Cyber studies” guest lecture/seminar on Wednesday 6 October, at 15:00 UK Time. Dr Menashri is Head of Cyber at the Holon Institute of Technology (H.I.T).

Registration: https://universityofleeds.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZclcuivqzgoGt3KFn9MphJmLS1apyvHl8ai

In this lecture, Dr Menashri will discuss cyber war among great powers (i.e. the US, China and Russia), as well as Israel's place in this. He will also speak to the need to develop a national program of cyberprotection at the level of organisations and institutions:

• Cyberwar among great powers

The United States claims the international laws of warfare and conflict cover most cyber threats today, thereby rendering a new convention unnecessary. In contrast, Russia, China, and their allies argue that the existing law does not cover cyberspace; therefore, they demand a new convention for operating in cyberspace. This dispute reflects the differences in world views and strategic interests among the superpowers. An international agreement still seems distant.

Because each country defines its own limits in cyberspace, there is constant potential for disagreement and conflict. Yet the current trend is to expand cooperation among nations regarding the application of international law to cyberwarfare issues. In addition to other methods discussed herein, this could also be achieved by the creation of legal structures; whether obligatory or not, such a framework has succeeded with weapons-control agreements, and there are positive signs of an agreement on outer-space activities. Such a structure would enable member states to define agreed-upon rules and regulations for cyberwarfare. 

• National programmes for cyber education

The cyber ecosystem constitutes a constantly evolving framework for collaboration between the government (including the military), businesses, and universities, with the government playing mostly a guiding, advisory role. As cyberspace has no national borders, organizations constitute the nation’s digital frontier. However, companies and institutions are reluctant to be seen working hand in hand with their respective governments as they operate globally. As an enterprise-level risk, everybody in the ecosystem has a role to play in protecting data and information. Human error, staff training for cyber hygiene, and institutional culture play significant roles in cyber resilience. In short, the importance of a strong national program for  cyber education cannot be underestimated.

Dr. Menashri currently serves as the Head of Cyber at the Holon Institute of Technology (H.I.T). He is a Cyber Lecturer at H.I.T, Bar Ilan University, and Tel Aviv University, as well as a Research Fellow at The Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT) in the Interdisciplinary Centre (IDC) at Reichaman University (Herzliya). His research interests include Cyber warfare, cyber security, advanced technology application, and emergency response.

Dr. Menashri served for 36 years as part of the Israeli security system, including working for 25 years in the Prime Minister's Office on research, security, and protection of critical infrastructure from cyber, as well as other types of attacks. Before that, Dr. Menashri served for 10 years as an Officer and Commander in the IDF. He holds a B.A. degree in Humanities and Social sciences, an M.A. in information science and technology, and a Ph.D. from Bar Ilan University in Information Science.

 

This event is organised by CGSC PhD student Megghi Pengili and chaired by Professor Ted Newman.