Julie Ryan
Almost every day sees new reports of information systems that have been hacked, broken into, compromised, and sometimes even destroyed. The prevalence of such stories reveals an overwhelming weakness in the security of the systems we increasingly rely on for everything: shopping, banking, health services, education, and even voting. That these problems persist even as the world rushes headlong into the Internet-of-Things and cloud based everything underscores the importance of understanding the current and potential aspects of information warfare, also known as cyberwarfare. Having passed through into the third generation of information warfare, we now must consider what the fourth generation might look like. Where we are now is not unlike trench warfare, only in cyberspace. Where we go next will emerge in an international landscape that is considering the implications of current capabilities on notions of just warfare, sovereignty, and individual freedoms. The papers in this book have been selected to provide the reader with a broad appreciation for the challenges that accompany the evolution of the use of information, information technologies, and connectedness in all things. The papers are important contributions, representing 8 different countries or regions, that create a truly global thought presentation.
