Difference between revisions of "Cyberattack (Political)"

The informal practice of cyberattack has numerous economic effects on its target. As of 2014, the cost of cyberattacks on the global economy was in excess of $400 billion per annum, with the regions of North America, Europe and Asia experiencing the greatest losses whilst Africa suffered the least.  This finding is attributed to differences in the income levels of these territories, with highly developed economies losing the most and countries with emerging economies losing the least (CSIS 2014<ref>CSIS. 2014. Net Losses: Estimating the Global Cost of Cybercrime Economic impact of cybercrime II. United States of America: Center for Strategic and International Studies.</ref>). However, these figures are not necessarily representative of the true costs of cyberattacks on the global economy. In the first instance the economic cost is difficult to measure due to a lack of consensus about what constitutes a cyberattack, resulting in an inconsistent approach to data collection (UNCTD 2005<ref>UNCTD. 2005. Information Economy Report 2005 ecommerce and development. Geneva: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.</ref>). Secondly, the financial losses resulting from cyberattacks are underreported (Pawlak and Petkova 2015<ref>Pawlak, P. and Petkova, G. 2015. State-sponsored hackers: hybrid armies? [Online]. European Union Institute for Security Studies. Available at: http://www.iss.europa.eu/publications/detail/article/state-sponsored-hackers-hybrid-armies/ [Accessed: 11 April 2016].</ref>). Lastly, such figures fail to account for the intangible costs of the attacks such as the loss of business intelligence, intellectual property and damage to reputation (Ernst & Young 2014<ref>Ernst & Young. 2014. Cyber threat intelligence − how to get ahead of cybercrime [Online] Ernst & Young. Available at:  https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwjD1-SD7K_MAhVsIcAKHf68Ci4QFggkMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ey.com%2FPublication%2FvwLUAssets%2FEY-cyber-threat-intelligence-how-to-get-ahead-of-cybercrime%2F%24FILE%2FEY-cyber-threat-intelligence-how-to-get-ahead-of-cybercrime.pdf&usg=AFQjCNE2lf2YQK9E-2gZpMyvmq_3qsiVgg&bvm=bv.120853415,d.ZGg&cad=rja [Accessed 11 April 2016].</ref>).

The informal practice of cyberattack has numerous economic effects on its target. As of 2014, the cost of cyberattacks on the global economy was in excess of $400 billion per annum, with the regions of North America, Europe and Asia experiencing the greatest losses whilst Africa suffered the least.  This finding is attributed to differences in the income levels of these territories, with highly developed economies losing the most and countries with emerging economies losing the least (CSIS 2014<ref>CSIS. 2014. Net Losses: Estimating the Global Cost of Cybercrime Economic impact of cybercrime II. United States of America: Center for Strategic and International Studies.</ref>). However, these figures are not necessarily representative of the true costs of cyberattacks on the global economy. In the first instance the economic cost is difficult to measure due to a lack of consensus about what constitutes a cyberattack, resulting in an inconsistent approach to data collection (UNCTD 2005<ref>UNCTD. 2005. Information Economy Report 2005 ecommerce and development. Geneva: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.</ref>). Secondly, the financial losses resulting from cyberattacks are underreported (Pawlak and Petkova 2015<ref>Pawlak, P. and Petkova, G. 2015. State-sponsored hackers: hybrid armies? [Online]. European Union Institute for Security Studies. Available at: http://www.iss.europa.eu/publications/detail/article/state-sponsored-hackers-hybrid-armies/ [Accessed: 11 April 2016].</ref>). Lastly, such figures fail to account for the intangible costs of the attacks such as the loss of business intelligence, intellectual property and damage to reputation (Ernst & Young 2014<ref>Ernst & Young. 2014. Cyber threat intelligence − how to get ahead of cybercrime [Online] Ernst & Young. Available at:  https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwjD1-SD7K_MAhVsIcAKHf68Ci4QFggkMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ey.com%2FPublication%2FvwLUAssets%2FEY-cyber-threat-intelligence-how-to-get-ahead-of-cybercrime%2F%24FILE%2FEY-cyber-threat-intelligence-how-to-get-ahead-of-cybercrime.pdf&usg=AFQjCNE2lf2YQK9E-2gZpMyvmq_3qsiVgg&bvm=bv.120853415,d.ZGg&cad=rja [Accessed 11 April 2016].</ref>).

# Schmitt, M. N. 2012. “Attack” as a Term of Art in International Law: The Cyber Operations Context. Tallin: NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence Publication

# Schmitt, M. N. 2012. “Attack” as a Term of Art in International Law: The Cyber Operations Context. Tallin: NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence Publication