Cybersecurity : The Demand for Global Approach

By Anonymous -


If technology is a boon, it is also a bane. Every time I stand in a store to use an online payment method the first thing that comes to my mind is the fear of being a victim of cybercrime. Each time I download a book, an app, or get a strange text, that fear automatically pops – up in my head. With the onset of the Pandemic and the rise of a new digital world, the cases of Cybercrime proliferated. Therefore, if innovations in Tech are making people’s life easier, it is also making their privacy perilous.

The notion of security varies from person to person. What is security for one may not be security for the other. Security is a dynamic discipline that is ambiguous and essentially contested (Krause & Williams,2018).  Security is the freedom of Individuals from unwanted threats like Cybercrime, which are omnipresent but are neglected. With the Upsurge of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the world being a global village, this became a transboundary issue requiring Global cooperation. In the World Economic forum’s Global Risk Report of 2021, the top three short-term risks as elucidated in the survey done by 650 WEF leaders are highly predictable ones like infectious diseases, income disparity, extreme weather events, and the fourth is often ignored in the discussion is Cybersecurity. cybersecurity is cited as a “clear and present danger” to the global economy by Nearly 40% of WEF leaders. Cybersecurity is a global threat that demands a global approach along the lines of environmental degradation.

Jerome Powell, the chairman of the Federal Reserve mentioned in his speech 60 minutes that after the pandemic the greatest risk to the economy isn’t the financial crisis or inflation. He Critically quoted that "The world evolves, and the risks change as well, and I would say that the risk that we keep our eyes on the most now is a cyber risk” (Powell, 2021).

Very Recent incidents of a security breach, fraud, malicious attacks, and Violation of people’s right to privacy were reported in India. The Pegasus Project reported on July 2021. After an investigation, the International Media Consortium revealed that over 50,000 phones were targeted by the spyware out of which 300 verified phone numbers were from India. It included ministers, opposition leaders, a sitting judge, more than 40 journalists, and several activists and businesspersons.

 In this case along the lines of other similar cases of breach of Cyber security and laws, the referent object is every Individual residing in the given country who is connected to the internet, in general, and in the case of the Pegasus project the Opposition leaders, and the journalists in particular. The reason for the circumstance is that most cyber-attacks are automated in the systems along with specific sites and software.  It also includes the financial and other crucial organizations whose data is being hacked and privacy is breached. This organization includes offices banks etc. The threat object from which the International Cyber Security Alliance (ICSPA) tries to protect the Individuals and financial institutions are certain malware, viruses, data hacking companies, and sometimes people’s online accounts get unauthorized access and they become a victim of malicious activities like theft and fraud. There are the means to reduce these spiteful activities, but the cyber-attacks are certain that upsurges with the development in the technologies and more software. These problems can be solved through the means of new and efficient cyber security policies, through the implementation of security-related awareness pieces of training. Every country also has certain cyber security laws in order to tackle these issues. But due to no amendments, the cyber security laws as in the case of India can lead to treacherous results. The main purpose of these laws and securities is the safety of the individuals and their Rights of privacy, freedom, and liberty by malware companies like NSO Group, an Israeli Software company in the case of the Pegasus project.

To sum up, everything that has been stated so far, I think Relativity is the best way to analyze the issues of Cyber security as “this relativity of security—of who or what is being threatened, and from what or whom—has important consequences for understanding security relations between states, within states, and between non-state actors" (Kraus & William, 2018). understanding the concept of relativity helps us understand the relativity and indeterminacy of the security which further supports the understanding of multidimensional concepts as futile.


Reference: 

  1.  Krause, K., & Williams, M. (2018). Security and “security studies.” The Oxford Handbook of International Security, 13–28.
  2. Outlook Web Desk., Outlook, 20 July 2021.https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/opinion-pegasus-controversy-where-does-india-stand-on-cyber-laws/389018
  3. 16th ed., World Economic Forum, 2021, Global Risks Report 2021


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