Arguments Against Kaplan
Argumentative Essay Against Kaplan’s Statement that Global Environmental and Social Factors are the Top National Security Concern of the 21st Century
CYBERATTACKS – THE TOP SECURITY THREAT IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Robert Kaplan makes a compelling argument in his book, “The Coming Anarchy,” that global environmental and social factors such as resource depletion, overpopulation, crime, and tribalism are the most pressing national security issues in the 21st century. He cites numerous examples of crime, war, and destitution in failing states of West Africa as well as protracted conflicts in the Balkans, and Central Asia. However, the environmental and social factors described by Kaplan are not security threats, per se, rather the fertile ground from which security threats arise. Resource depletion, overpopulation, tribalism, or combinations thereof are not sufficient conditions for security threats. Kaplan himself makes perhaps the best argument for this in his description of the Turkish culture and the people of a shanty town called Golden Mountain. Despite having many unfavorable …show more content…
environmental conditions, the cultural cohesion of these people fosters a remarkably positive feeling about security as Kaplan describes in this passage: Slum quarters in Abidjan terrify and repel the outsider. In Turkey it is the opposite. The closer I got to Golden Mountain the better it looked, and the safer I felt. I had $1,500 worth of Turkish lira in one pocket and $1,000 in traveler’s checks in the other, yet I felt no fear. Golden Mountain was a real neighborhood. . . . . . . Crime against persons is infinitesimal. Poverty and illiteracy are watered-down versions of what one obtains in Algeria and Egypt (to say nothing of West Africa), making it that much harder for religious extremists to gain a foothold. (Kaplan, 1994, 11)
Unlike the festering risks described by Kaplan that are often bounded by geopolitical regions, I will argue that cyberattacks are a clear and present danger, posing the top national security threat to the U.S. in the 21st century. What makes cyberattacks so formidable is the pervasiveness of computer technology and internet connectivity as part of key infrastructure throughout the world. This condition provides infinite pathways of access for malicious actors, from virtually any location, and with a high degree of anonymity.
A report on cyberattacks published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies details the scope, motivations, and implications of cyberattacks around the world.1 The report lists the myriad of actors involved in cyberattacks including nation-states, national opposition groups, ideological radicals, terrorist organizations, criminal organizations, and individuals.
The effects of attacks can be described by four levels of national security concern with the first level being disruption of communications, economic transactions, public information campaigns, electric power grids, and political negotiations. Second is the threat of exploitation of sensitive, proprietary, or classified information. Third is the threat of manipulation of information for political, economic, or military purposes and last is the threat of destruction of information or critical infrastructure
components.
Cyberattacks not only pose security threats, but may also be used as countermeasures to security threats. An article by the New York Times in the fall of 2010 describes the context and effects of a fast spreading, malicious computer worm dubbed ‘Stuxnet’ that infected and damaged uranium enrichment systems at the Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran.2 Follow-up reports by news agencies and computer security organizations provide credible, but unofficial, evidence that the worm was the creation of U.S. and Israeli security agencies as part of a strategy to disrupt and delay Iran’s nuclear program. Sources indicate that the worm may have caused as many as 900 centrifuges at the Natanz facility to spin out of control while blasting AC/DC’s Thunderstruck at full volume in the middle of the night. If true, this would be the biggest cyberattack launched anywhere in the world, outstripping those attributed to Russia or China. 3,4
Some may argue that cyberattacks, such as Stuxnet, are justifiable and legitimate strategies to counter security threats of hostile nations. That perception is in the eye of the beholder and the Jeannie can no longer be put back in the bottle. If Stuxnet can disrupt control of a uranium enrichment system, why couldn’t a well-funded, technology savvy terrorist organization, or hostile nation, create malware that could disrupt controls of a nuclear power plant causing a reactor meltdown similar to Fukushima or Chernobyl?
While I see news stories from time to time of security ‘hotspots’ around the world, I am all too frequently reminded of the constant threat of cyberattack in my own home by the popup from my computer’s security program that alerts - ‘A malicious attack has been detected’.
1. de Borchgrave, Amaud et al. Cyber Threats and Information Security Meeting the 21st Century Challenge Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, 2001 2. John Markoff, “A Silent Attack, but Not a Subtle One, ” The New York Times (September 26, 2010) 3. Ewen MacAskill, “Stuxnet cyberworm heads off US strike on Iran” The Guardian (January 16, 2011) 4. Matt Pitchford, “Report: Iran’s nuclear program disrupted by virus that blasts AC/DC in the middle of the night,” The Daily Caller (July 25, 2012)
BIBLIOGRAPHY de Borchgrave, Amaud et al. Cyber Threats and Information Security Meeting the 21st Century Challenge Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, 2001
Markoff, John. “A Silent Attack, but Not a Subtle One, ” The New York Times (September 26, 2010) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/technology/27virus.html
MacAskill, Ewen. “Stuxnet cyberworm heads off US strike on Iran” The Guardian (January 16, 2011) http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/16/stuxnet-cyberworm-us-strike-iran
Pitchford, Matt. “Report: Iran’s nuclear program disrupted by virus that blasts AC/DC in the middle of the night,” The Daily Caller (July 25, 2012) http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/25/report-irans-nuclear-program-disrupted-by-virus-that-blasts-acdc-in-the-middle-of-the-night/
CYBERATTACKS – THE TOP SECURITY THREAT IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Robert Kaplan makes a compelling argument in his book, “The Coming Anarchy,” that global environmental and social factors such as resource depletion, overpopulation, crime, and tribalism are the most pressing national security issues in the 21st century. He cites numerous examples of crime, war, and destitution in failing states of West Africa as well as protracted conflicts in the Balkans, and Central Asia. However, the environmental and social factors described by Kaplan are not security threats, per se, rather the fertile ground from which security threats arise. Resource depletion, overpopulation, tribalism, or combinations thereof are not sufficient conditions for security threats. Kaplan himself makes perhaps the best argument for this in his description of the Turkish culture and the people of a shanty town called Golden Mountain. Despite having many unfavorable …show more content…
environmental conditions, the cultural cohesion of these people fosters a remarkably positive feeling about security as Kaplan describes in this passage: Slum quarters in Abidjan terrify and repel the outsider. In Turkey it is the opposite. The closer I got to Golden Mountain the better it looked, and the safer I felt. I had $1,500 worth of Turkish lira in one pocket and $1,000 in traveler’s checks in the other, yet I felt no fear. Golden Mountain was a real neighborhood. . . . . . . Crime against persons is infinitesimal. Poverty and illiteracy are watered-down versions of what one obtains in Algeria and Egypt (to say nothing of West Africa), making it that much harder for religious extremists to gain a foothold. (Kaplan, 1994, 11)
Unlike the festering risks described by Kaplan that are often bounded by geopolitical regions, I will argue that cyberattacks are a clear and present danger, posing the top national security threat to the U.S. in the 21st century. What makes cyberattacks so formidable is the pervasiveness of computer technology and internet connectivity as part of key infrastructure throughout the world. This condition provides infinite pathways of access for malicious actors, from virtually any location, and with a high degree of anonymity.
A report on cyberattacks published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies details the scope, motivations, and implications of cyberattacks around the world.1 The report lists the myriad of actors involved in cyberattacks including nation-states, national opposition groups, ideological radicals, terrorist organizations, criminal organizations, and individuals.
The effects of attacks can be described by four levels of national security concern with the first level being disruption of communications, economic transactions, public information campaigns, electric power grids, and political negotiations. Second is the threat of exploitation of sensitive, proprietary, or classified information. Third is the threat of manipulation of information for political, economic, or military purposes and last is the threat of destruction of information or critical infrastructure
components.
Cyberattacks not only pose security threats, but may also be used as countermeasures to security threats. An article by the New York Times in the fall of 2010 describes the context and effects of a fast spreading, malicious computer worm dubbed ‘Stuxnet’ that infected and damaged uranium enrichment systems at the Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran.2 Follow-up reports by news agencies and computer security organizations provide credible, but unofficial, evidence that the worm was the creation of U.S. and Israeli security agencies as part of a strategy to disrupt and delay Iran’s nuclear program. Sources indicate that the worm may have caused as many as 900 centrifuges at the Natanz facility to spin out of control while blasting AC/DC’s Thunderstruck at full volume in the middle of the night. If true, this would be the biggest cyberattack launched anywhere in the world, outstripping those attributed to Russia or China. 3,4
Some may argue that cyberattacks, such as Stuxnet, are justifiable and legitimate strategies to counter security threats of hostile nations. That perception is in the eye of the beholder and the Jeannie can no longer be put back in the bottle. If Stuxnet can disrupt control of a uranium enrichment system, why couldn’t a well-funded, technology savvy terrorist organization, or hostile nation, create malware that could disrupt controls of a nuclear power plant causing a reactor meltdown similar to Fukushima or Chernobyl?
While I see news stories from time to time of security ‘hotspots’ around the world, I am all too frequently reminded of the constant threat of cyberattack in my own home by the popup from my computer’s security program that alerts - ‘A malicious attack has been detected’.
1. de Borchgrave, Amaud et al. Cyber Threats and Information Security Meeting the 21st Century Challenge Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, 2001 2. John Markoff, “A Silent Attack, but Not a Subtle One, ” The New York Times (September 26, 2010) 3. Ewen MacAskill, “Stuxnet cyberworm heads off US strike on Iran” The Guardian (January 16, 2011) 4. Matt Pitchford, “Report: Iran’s nuclear program disrupted by virus that blasts AC/DC in the middle of the night,” The Daily Caller (July 25, 2012)
BIBLIOGRAPHY de Borchgrave, Amaud et al. Cyber Threats and Information Security Meeting the 21st Century Challenge Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC, 2001
Markoff, John. “A Silent Attack, but Not a Subtle One, ” The New York Times (September 26, 2010) http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/technology/27virus.html
MacAskill, Ewen. “Stuxnet cyberworm heads off US strike on Iran” The Guardian (January 16, 2011) http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/16/stuxnet-cyberworm-us-strike-iran
Pitchford, Matt. “Report: Iran’s nuclear program disrupted by virus that blasts AC/DC in the middle of the night,” The Daily Caller (July 25, 2012) http://dailycaller.com/2012/07/25/report-irans-nuclear-program-disrupted-by-virus-that-blasts-acdc-in-the-middle-of-the-night/