Freedom on the Net 2014 - Tightening the Net: Governments Expand Online Controls (Summary)

Internet freedom around the world has declined for the fourth consecutive year, with a growing number of countries introducing online censorship and monitoring practices that are simultaneously more aggressive and more sophisticated in their targeting of individual users. This booklet is a summary of findings for the 2014 edition of "Freedom on the Net.

Cyberspace: A Venue for Terrorism

This paper discusses how cyberspace has become a venue for terrorists groups for recruiting and proliferating propaganda and terrorism. Moreover, this study explores how the low cost Internet infrastructure and social media sites (such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube) have contributed to their networking and operations due to the convenience, in terms of availability, accessibility, message redundancy, ease of use, and the inability to censor content. Concepts such as cyber-weapons, cyber-attacks, cyber-war, and cyber-terrorism are presented and explored to assess how terrorist groups are exploiting cyberspace

Compelled to control: conflicting visions of the future of cyberspace

This report looks at the desire among states for greater control over the digital domain. It considers the convergence of controlling desires among the major cyberpowers and examines some of the main dynamics of the Russian and Chinese positions. Their positions are examined relative to each other and to the Western consensus. The paper analyses the potential implications for the global internet and the impact that developing countries may have on the dialogue

Cyber maturity in the Asia-Pacific Region 2014

Summary: To make considered, evidence-based cyber policy judgements in the Asia-Pacific there’s a need for better tools to assess the existing ‘cyber maturity’ of nations in the region. Over the past twelve months the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre has developed a Maturity Metric which provides an assessment of the regional cyber landscape. This measurement encompasses an evaluation of whole-of-government policy and legislative structures, military organisation, business and digital economic strength and levels of cyber social awareness. This information is distilled into an accessible format, using metrics to provide a snapshot by which government, business, and the public alike can garner an understanding of the cyber profile of regional actors

A Qualitative Analysis of the Relationship Between Cyberthreats and Democratic Backsliding

Interstate conflict has developed beyond conventional tactics to include the cyber realm, making cybersecurity a key component of international relations and an integral part of state defense plans. Research in international security has included the analyses of the relative success or failures of particular cyberattacks. However, the instigators behind these attacks receive comparatively little attention, leaving a gap in knowledge for when, why, and where cyberthreats are likely to emerge. Recent analysis has found that democratic institutions are likely to hinder state-sponsored cyberattack initiation. A consideration that the latest wave of global democratic backsliding could be fueling cyberthreats must be made. I explore this linkage between democratic backsliding and cyberthreats using a qualitative, case study approach. By comparing changing political systems with frequency and severity of state-sponsored cyberattacks, I show how increased state cyberthreat usage often aids in eroding democratic institutions and values, and how the process of democratic backsliding itself paves the way for utilization of cyberthreats

Freedom on the Net 2015: Privatizing Censorship, Eroding Privacy (Summary)

Internet freedom around the world has declined for the fifth consecutive year, with more governments censoring information of public interest and placing greater demands on the private sector to take down offending content.This booklet is a summary of findings for the 2015 edition of "Freedom on the Net.

At Home and Abroad: The Use of Denial-of-service Attacks during Elections in Nondemocratic Regimes

In this article, we study the political use of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, a particular form of cyberattack that disables web services by flooding them with high levels of data traffic. We argue that websites in nondemocratic regimes should be especially prone to this type of attack, particularly around political focal points such as elections. This is due to two mechanisms: governments employ DoS attacks to censor regime-threatening information, while at the same time, activists use DoS attacks as a tool to publicly undermine the government’s authority. We analyze these mechanisms by relying on measurements of DoS attacks based on large-scale Internet traffic data. Our results show that in authoritarian countries, elections indeed increase the number of DoS attacks. However, these attacks do not seem to be directed primarily against the country itself but rather against other states that serve as hosts for news websites from this country.publishe

The Long Shadow of Chinese Censorship: How Chinese Media Restrictions Affect News Outlets around the World

Since coming to power in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has constructed a multi-layered system for censoring unwanted news and stifling opposing viewpoints within China. Over the past two decades, this domestic apparatus has spawned mechanisms that extend information controls to media outlets based outside China. This study provides a survey of this phenomenon, finding that over the past five years, its nature and scope have intensified and expanded. In many cases, Chinese officials directly impede independent reporting by media based abroad. However, more prevalent -- and often more effective -- are methods of control that subtly induce self-censorship or inspire media owners, advertisers, and other international actors to take action on the CCP's behalf. These efforts -- ranging from discreet to blatant -- are successful in some cases, and encounter significant pushback in others, with journalists and activists at times scoring important victories. But whatever the outcome of each contestation, the "China Factor" is palpably present, be it at the internationally renowned Washington Post, a local newspaper in Nepal, or a Chinese radio talk show in Los Angeles.This report was authored by Freedom House researcher Sarah Cook and published by the Center for International Media Assistance at the National Endowment for Democracy on October 22, 2013. Combining case studies, interviews, and original analysis, its chapters focus on six types of media outlets based outside mainland China that together reach news consumers worldwide: major international media; local outlets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; mainstream media in Hong Kong and Taiwan; exile Chinese outlets providing uncensored news to people in China; and media serving Chinese diaspora communities around the world