POSITION PAPER

Topic: Establishing Security Strategies for Countering Cyber Warfare in Digital Age
Committee: GA1
Country: United Kingdom

In this exponentially developing digital age, the greatest threats to international peace
no longer come from guns and tanks, but from a computer with a connection to the Internet.
From science fiction to reality, the threat of cyberwar is one that has risen rapidly.

Cyber warfare is defined as any virtual conflict initiated as politically motivated

attacks by a nation on another nation for the purposes of espionage, sabotage or altering
classified data. This latest form of war surpasses its predecessors in the enormity of its
danger: through cyber-attacks, aggressors could take control of missiles (especially with
nuclear warheads), attack critical infrastructures like transport or the Internet, and disturb
military commands and intelligence. Furthermore, with the industrialization of hacking tools,
skilled professionals are no longer required in order to threaten the cyberspace security of
businesses and governments.

Actions that would sanction as strikes of war are 1) the elimination of a nation’s
financial associations and nuclear command and control systems, and 2) computer-induced
failures of power grids, transportation networks or financial systems that might result in
physical damage or economic disruption of Department of Defense (DoD) operations. These
occurrences would rise to the level of cyber-attacks that could cue a declaration of war.

As computer technology has become increasingly integrated into modern military

organizations, military planners have come to see it as both a target and a weapon, exactly
like other components and forces. Many countries around the world including UK are
advancing and enforcing cyber schemes constructed to impact an enemy's command and
control structure, logistics, transportation, early warning and other critical, military functions.

The current cyber threat to the UK is diverse, ranging from state actors, to organized
crime groups and terrorist organizations, to individual criminals. All sectors of society are at
risk, from government networks, to companies, to individuals and so protecting the UK’s
political system from hostile cyber activity is a major operational priority for the National
Cyber Security Centre.

The National Cyber Security Strategy (published in November 2016) is centered on

Defend (We have the means to defend the UK against evolving cyber threats), Deter (We
detect, understand, investigate and disrupt militant action taken against us, ensuing and
litigating offenders) and Develop (We have an innovative, growing cyber security industry,
underpinned by world-leading scientific research and development.)
 Some new measures the UK is taking is launching two new cyber innovation centers
to drive the development of cutting-edge cyber products and dynamic new cyber security
companies. and allocating a proportion of the £165m Defense and Cyber Innovation Fund to
support innovative procurement in defense and security.

UK fully intends to implement internationally recognized cybersecurity standards

throughout the nation. Thus far, measures have been taken worldwide to increase the security
of cyberspaces to protect them against cyber-attacks. However, it is not sufficient in the long
run to simply protect nations against threats: serious international measures must also be
taken to prevent states from carrying out cyber-attacks. This would include member states of
the UN arriving at a consensus on a clear definition for large-scale cybercrimes, attacks and
war, as well as creating an agreed-upon list of cybercrimes with appropriate sanctions for
violations of the rules. Another possibility not to be overlooked is that of initiating an
international body to monitor cyberspace activity. We will deepen existing links with our
closest international partners, recognizing that this enhances our collective security and also
develop relationships with new partners to build their levels of cyber security and protect UK
interests overseas.

It is imperative that this issue is nipped in the bud and the matter resolved at the
earliest possible time, and the delegate of UK is eager to contribute to this.
Bibliography:

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-at-munich-security-conference-17-februar
y-2018
https://incyberdefense.com/news/cyber-attack-become-act-war/
https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/cyber-security
https://www.cbronline.com/news/uk-cyber-warfare-gchq
http://www.silicon.co.uk/e-regulation/governance/uks-cyber-warfare-ability-226365
https://www.cybersecurity-review.com/articles/the-current-state-of-cyber-warfare/