Global politics expert and senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow Brandon Valeriano '99 was on campus recently to speak with students and share his views on the dynamics of cyber operations in relation to international relations and cyber security. Valeriano is the author of the new book Cyber War Versus Cyber Reality: Cyber Conflict in the International System. Throughout his talk, which took place at Hartley House, Valeriano discussed the impact of cyber conflict on foreign policy, relationships, and its impact on the way we interact with the internet. “My hope with this book is to push us more toward policy judgments based on evidence,” he said.
According to Valeriano, although our dependence on cyber space makes us vulnerable, it could also be deterring international conflict. “How we respond as a state to cyber threats is important because what we speak about in the cyber world is based on imagination; the fears and things we that we don’t necessarily understand,” said Valeriano. “There is really no such thing as a secure system, but there are things one can do to boost protection. Redundancy, resilience and backup networks, as well decentralization, are all tactics that need to be used by important government branches and corporations.”
Valeriano elaborated on the context of cyber operations by referencing the recent Sony dispute involving North Korea’s attempt to halt the film The Interview from premiering. “Sony was a soft target as they have been hacked before and warned recently that their networks were vulnerable,” Valeriano said. “Until now, companies have been hesitant to share information and resources. Hopefully this attack will push private companies to realize that it is in their interest to work together. There are two clear tasks; one is United States’ response and a need to develop more effective means of collaboration among private industry in the cyber world.”
Discussion regarding instances of cyber conflict was debated by several political science students and faculty present. When asked about cyber conflict as a new domain of war, Valeriano said that he sees that cyber operation is not an expansion of warfare but an expansion of espionage, of intelligence, of information-gathering so that states can catch up against their rival.
Valeriano encouraged the integration of cyber conflict into higher education. “Cyber security is an interesting avenue for new scholars to pursue since there is so much unattended ground in the cyber security field,” said Valeriano. “We have started to really engage the cyber conflict question, what about cyber repression, cyber activism as it relates to civil conflict, cyber human rights violations, and the future of war in light of cyber weapons. However, there is still much ground to cover.”
A graduate of Whittier College with a double major in political science and history, Valeriano received his Ph.D. at Vanderbilt University. His main research interests include investigations of the causes of conflict and peace in the international system, as well as the study race/ethnicity from the international perspective. Ongoing and past research explores interstate rivalry, classification systems of war, the causes and consequences of military spending dynamics, cyber conflict, popular culture and foreign policy, and Latino foreign policy issues.
