Vital Interests Virtual Threats

<p>The dominance of the U.S. military means that traditional threats short of weapons of mass destruction currently pose little risk to U.S. sovereignty. Non-traditional threats however pose asymmetric dilemmas for the United States. The increased U.S. military and economic reliance on information systems introduces new vulnerabilities not adequately protected by traditional kinetic force arms. Additionally international law does not adequately provide response mechanisms for the United States in case of a Computer Network Attack. The United States needs to establish policy directives and diplomatic initiatives to secure its information sovereignty for the future. This thesis examines the history of technology and sovereignty which reveals a model for the evolution of international law. Specifically the history of sea air and space provide examples on past issues of sovereignty. A three-stage pattern of international law emerges. Under the assumption that sovereignty issues related to information warfare will follow the same path the current state of sovereignty regarding information is established. To focus the study a functional outline for international convention the International Regime for Information Security (IRIS) is advanced. IRIS balances U.S. domestic privacy needs with U.S. national security demands. Specifically technology issues regarding digital identification and encryption are weighed against civil liberties and intelligence needs. After examining the advantages and disadvantages of the IRIS regime this paper recommends its use as a model for a future international convention on information warfare. Within an IRIS-type regime compromise between civil liberty advocates and intelligence service organizations are necessary. Through digital identification and universally strong encryption privacy and security concerns will be satisfied.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>