Cyber-Security and Risk Management in an Interoperable World

Abstract

The Internet facilitates a level of interoperability that generates considerable innovation and opportunity. Yet threats to governments, businesses, and individuals who use the Internet are increasing exponentially. This article deploys an anthropological understanding of risk in order to examine public sector action and capacity with respect to the multidimensional challenge of cyber-security. Our objectives are threefold: to gain a fuller appreciation of the interplay of political, technological, organizational, and social dimensions of cyber-security; to understand how this interplay is further shaped by clashing values and perceptions of risk; and to offer some prescriptive insight into the sorts of roles for government most likely to maximize systemic resilience and learning in an increasingly interdependent and virtual environment. Governments, the private sector, and civil society must engage in more shared responsibilities and collective learning in what is a highly fragile and dynamic cyberspace.