A Conflict Between East and West Over Internet Control?

A Conflict Between East and West Over Internet Control?
Louise Blouin Foundation - The Metropolitan Club
Cyber security, warfare and crime have become key priorities for government, business and the individual. On the one hand, Western governments have become increasingly concerned about security vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks issued by competing nations - for instance, in 2011 the network of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was completely exposed for 6 months to the Chinese Army. On the other hand, nations such as the United States and Israel have been on the forefront of the development of cyber-weapons, such as in the case of Stuxnet, designed to impede the further development of Iran's nuclear capability. However, as nations and their respective security agencies develop defensive and strategic cyber capabilities, business and the individual have also found themselves exerting positive principles of cyber awareness; namely, the right to privacy, as well as the opportunity to develop alternate distributed cyber security infrastructures. How can the complex, yet increasingly important issue of cyber security governance be addressed? How far should nations be allowed, even if in a covert manner, to develop strategic cyber weapons if there is recognition that these very weapons can be used in a retaliatory fashion? How can individual rights be protected if national cyber security defenses are developed - for instance, does the U.S. Cyber Intelligence and Protections Act passed in 2012 provide adequate privacy protections? What alternate methods can be developed to provide cyber security?