The Digital Big Bang. Phil Quade

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The Digital Big Bang - Phil Quade


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information far beyond the communications themselves in order to better enable the routing, storage, and recovery of the data entrusted to them by their owners (for instance, the so-called metadata, which includes routing information and other attributes such as geolocation, the specifications of operating and system software being employed, and so forth).

      THE IMPORTANCE OF THE VERTICAL AND THE VIDEO

      As imperfect as any static representation of cyberspace might be, the model is now complete. The components of the model have been layered in a manner that presents the whole of cyberspace as if captured in a still photograph. But although it is useful to consider any particular layer in isolation in understanding the building blocks of cyberspace, its operations can only be understood by analyzing the interaction of and between the layers as users and processes leverage cyberspace to achieve their end purposes. To wit, whereas it is easy to perceive that cyberspace enables one user to communicate directly with another (an activity that may be perceived to take place horizontally across the people layer of this model), the reality is that users interact with their devices. Those devices connect to one another using communication pathways heavily influenced by controlling logic and so forth, thus effecting a flow of data and actions that is more vertical than it is horizontal—up and down the layered stack. And although it is tempting to consider cyberspace as being principally comprised of the technology components of the stack (the middle three layers), the whole can only be understood by considering these layers and their intimate relationship with the outer two layers: People and geography.

      IMPLICATIONS

      When considered as a whole, the model offers a means to understand properties that derive from the interaction of the constituent pieces. Four key attributes come immediately to the fore:

      More than Technology

      As tempting as it is to think of cyberspace as technology alone, it is impossible to understand, predict, or meaningfully influence its operations without considering the impact of people, geography, and the policies and practices that attend to them.

      Characterized by Convergence

      Wealth, Treasure, and More

      Cyberspace quite literally contains—more than simply referencing or coordinating the management of—wealth and treasure. And given the enormous efficiencies offered in synchronizing the aspirations and actions of both people and systems, cyberspace is increasingly used to coordinate and carry out essential functions of critical systems, from electrical power generation to financial markets to diplomacy, collaboration, and even the conduct of war. As noted by Dr. Mark Hagerott of the United States Naval Academy's Cyber Center, a transformation in human affairs is taking place in which sensing, thinking, and acting, even in physical space, are increasingly delegated to the web of hardware and software serving human endeavors across the length and breadth of cyberspace. Humans' natural desire to impose rational controls on the result will succeed only if we move beyond creating rules about technology to crafting broader rules of governance for the interaction of people, technology, and systems (taking into consideration rules and policies rooted in geography).

      Ever Changing, Never Secure


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