Is the Internet Considered the Cause of Cyber Security Issues: Argumentative Essay

Is the Internet Considered the Cause of Cyber Security Issues: Argumentative Essay

Urban infrastructure these days is not only about isolated nodes installed for the functioning of a community or society, but it is an interconnected realm of human interaction, deemed critical because of its impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. We have come a long way from when infrastructure was merely about roads, transportation, communication lines and other services that had made life simpler, however, at present time technology has transitioned radically by anchoring itself with these nodes that play a vital role in our existence. Physical devices have become smart and connected through embedded sensors, processors, and software, and the internet is what binds them together. The Internet of Things (IoT) has great potential for automation and analysis and promises a tremendous future but it possesses the potential of a security disaster too. Evidently, critical infrastructure sectors can be categorized very broadly and can enclose every aspect of daily life, but the cyberspace that enables the connectivity of this infrastructure is massive and with no visible boundary or demarcation. This makes it even harder to decide what needs to be protected and how.

It is known that there is no overarching authority over a state, and due to this international anarchy, Australia’s critical infrastructure security is its very own responsibility. If physical facilities, transportation, supply chain, IT, and networks are destroyed or rendered unavailable for an extended period of time, then it would impact not only Australia’s national well-being but also its ability to conduct national defense and ensure the security of its citizens. Even though Australia’s national ambitions for long-term city resilience are realized through cyber-securitization of its critical infrastructure enabled through IoT, the dependency on multiple critical assets and the exposure of each asset to uncountable vulnerabilities, decreases the overall cybersecurity of critical infrastructure in Australia.

This essay aims to describe how vulnerabilities in IoT systems of critical infrastructure have led to the denial of service attacks in the past and analyze the significance of IoT cybersecurity for Australia with respect to international anarchy.

Critical Infrastructure

Infrastructure comprises services and facilities that are used by people to make their life easier and can be stipulated as critical by understanding the consequences should the infrastructure be destroyed or disabled for just an instance or an extended period of time. The vulnerabilities of the nodes that make up this critical infrastructure system depend on several factors such as location, relationality, and dependency. More often than not, these nodes are interconnected and dependent, which is why if one node fails, it leads to a domino effect on other assets and facilities impacting a greater number of livelihoods than estimated. For instance, electricity is a very crucial part of urban infrastructure and deeply affects the majority of sectors of the system.

Some of the commonly known risks to critical infrastructure can arise from climate change, terrorist activities, trade wars, and other such implicit or explicit disruptions. To understand how and for whom infrastructure is critical, we need to understand a) Privatisation and b) Securitisation aspects of urban infrastructural assets.

Privatization:

Most critical infrastructure in Australia is privately owned or operated through complex systems of public-private partnerships (PPP) involving government agencies, government-owned corporations, and private firms. The private sector has the ability to pay for infrastructure and gain benefits from the return on investment, unlike the public sector which focuses on the public good. Privatization of infrastructure can be argued as a political or pragmatic policy and due to this shared ownership of assets, there is the problem of attribution. Shared ownership leads to aggravated risks because recovery of infrastructure after disruption becomes complicated; and the responsibility for rebuilding is tossed between the private sector and public sector. However, the overall weight is more towards the private sector which will be most impacted if there was a threat to critical infrastructure in Australian cities.

Securitization:

Securitization answers the question of how critical is infrastructure and is basically about understanding the significance of protecting the citizens of a country and the value of one life against another. If infrastructure is destroyed, it can be rebuilt or recovered but such is not the case with human lives, therefore using lethal force to protect it is not the right solution. Therefore, the security policies that are framed by the government have to be carefully mandated and executed such that disruption of infrastructure does not