COMMENTARY / Naiara Goñi

The dazzle of a few years ago by the enormous possibilities of big data, when the mainstream media echoed its extreme usefulness for the provision of services in a democratic society, as long as it was in good hands, has given way in a short time to a generalized pessimism, fueled by the increase in cyberattacks on companies and States and a greater threat to the privacy and freedoms of citizens.

In 2010, The Economist magazine published a special report graduate "Data, data everywhere" welcoming the era of a new revolution, this time not based on steam or chip, but on data. "The effect is felt everywhere, from business to science, from governments to the arts. Computer scientists and engineers have coined a new term for the phenomenon: 'big data.'"

The dangers to privacy and freedoms posed by the storage of enormous information about each of the individuals in a society were already pointed out, but then the possibilities that opened up weighed more. From the field of cybersecurity, which has had a development Parallel to that of big data, with which it is closely related, Henry Kissinger was already warning at that moment of optimism that the future would not be placid.

In his book World Order (2014)^,1 the experienced American politician and diplomat pointed to the risk that the development of this new technology meant for international stability. Although he was not the only voice to be raised early on this matter, Kissinger's authority in the field of diplomacy allows us to use him here as a reference letter. If Zhou Enlai said that diplomacy is a war continued by other means, today we can say the same about cyberwar.

In the chapter graduate "Technology, balance, and human consciousness," Kissinger notes that the backbone of the concept of cybersecurity is technology. It emphasizes the fact that in the past, cybernetics were an element that could not be controlled in its entirety, and therefore became a complement in war situations. Today, however, it has established itself as a factor to be taken into account, thus altering the capacities of the actors involved in the world order. Kissinger asserts that the greater or lesser stability of the world will depend on who develops this technology and for what purposes

It is therefore necessary to inquire into the theoretical and ethical limits of this development technological. In fact, Kissinger states that "the penetration of communications in network in the social, financial, industrial and military sectors (...) anticipating most rules and regulations (...) it has created that state of nature with which philosophers speculated."

Kissinger takes a closer look at the notion of cybersecurity, mentioning that the technological revolution has brought about two different types of response. On the one hand, democratic countries allow this revolution. Conversely, countries with totalitarian regimes tend to dominate or impose themselves on it.

Although, as has been said, access to data In Kissinger's words, one can sense a certain alarm and concern, which has only recently been accentuated. In recent months, there have been numerous international examples of disruptive hacking, cyberespionage against companies or political formations, and cyber-interference in electoral campaigns.

In its 2018 edition, the report Cyber Threats and Trends by the National Cryptologic Center (CNN) indicates that "state actors – analogous to criminal organizations – are in a permanent search for new methods that allow them to infiltrate networks without being detected."

There have been many cases of cyberespionage attempts by non-democratic governments. In China, for example, a new search engine online: "Dragonfly". This tool it will allow the Chinese government to exercise greater censorship and control, as it claimed one publishing house of The New York Times.

However, the CCN points out that the forecast in democratic countries is not much more hopeful: "Over the next period, experts expect a growth in cyber espionage due to geopolitical triggers or economic sanctions, but also, due to the strategic objectives of nations."

The only possible way to control this phenomenon is clear and strict legislation, both internationally and by individual States. However, we must note that this is a reality that is advancing at a much faster speed than legislation, and that it does so without consensus and definitions.

1. Kissinger, H. (2014). World Order. New York: Penguin Press