Countries pick sides in global fight for the Internet

[WestVirginiaRebel]

The Hill:

The world is choosing sides in a fight over what the Internet will look like in the years to come.

 

In recent months, countries have rushed to sign cybersecurity pacts that not only secure cyberspace allies, but also promote their vision of the global Internet.

 

“It’s kind of indicating how the battle lines are being drawn,” said Richard Stiennon, chief research analyst for security consulting firm IT-Harvest.

 

While a coalition of nations, including the U.S., is pushing to turn the Internet into a borderless global entity, others such as Russia and China are pressing to give local governments more control over the flow of data.

 

How the competing visions play out is “a huge question,” Chris Finan, a former military intelligence officer and adviser to the Obama administration on cybersecurity policy. “We don’t know the answer to that yet.”

 

Over the past four weeks, the U.S. has inked cyber deals with Japan, South Korea and the Gulf states.

 

Some were standalone cyber pacts, others part of broader security agreements. All pledged to share more data on hacking threats, exchange military cyber tactics and establish international cyberspace standards.

 

Meanwhile, in what some saw as a response to the spate of U.S. deals, Russia and China unveiled their own wide-ranging cyber pact. The two — seen as the United States’ two main cyber adversaries — vowed not to hack each other and jointly work to repel technology that can “disturb public order” or “interfere with affairs of the state.”

 

The deals were received as “mainly symbolic,” said Steven Weber, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Information and an expert on international politics and cybersecurity.

 

But the symbolic markers are an indication the Internet is splintering.

 

“The Internet is fragmenting and going more towards a future where it’s not one thing, it’s different everywhere,” said Stiennon.

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