GC: n
CT: In the popular culture of the 1990s, cyberspace as a term was taken to describe the “location” in which people interacted with each other while using the Internet. This is the place in which online games occur, the land of chat rooms, and the home of instant-messaging conversations. In this sense, the location of the games or the chat room itself can be said to “exist” in cyberspace. Cyberspace has also become an important location for social and political discussion, with the popular emergence in the late 20th and the early 21st century of Web-based discussion boards and blogs. Blogs are typically produced by individuals who include their personal writing and often offer running commentary and links to other locations on the Web they deem of interest. With the emergence of blogging software, even those people unfamiliar with software programming for the Web can create their own blog. Thus, blogs can be seen as offering an opportunity for public discussion in cyberspace that is not available in the off-line world.
S: EB – https://bit.ly/2He2l9u (last access: 15 January 2019)
N: 1. From cyber- (word-forming element, ultimately from cybernetics) and -space (“extent or area; room” (to do something), a shortening of Old French espace “period of time, distance, interval”. C. 1300. The combination of both results in: “the online world of computer networks and especially the Internet, the environment in which communication over computer networks occurs”.
2. Nowadays, cyberspace is where a large amount of our social life takes place. Its social impact involves the necessity of surveillance, just as much as it is needed in what can be defined as the ‘real’ world. Surveillance techniques are made up of network monitoring through software that allow the acquisition and analysis of digital elements. These tools can allow a clear vision of the electronic communications that have crossed the cyberspace. These software allow the observation of contents in real time and the storage of data in databases for its examination afterwards. Data is bound to its properties and related information and can be a target for digital forensic acquisition using computer forensic techniques – the discipline for the acquisition, custody and analysis of data for judiciary purposes – so that it can be used as evidence in court.
3. Cyberspace and its various networks including the Internet have become central to several economies, businesses and militaries. According to Internet World Stats (1), there are nearly 2.5 billion people using the Internet across the globe today. While this unprecedented connectivity has provided numerous opportunities for individuals, businesses and governments to benefit from, elements threatening its stability are also increasing. Threats such as Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS) and malware, among others, are attempting to erode the trust that billions have put in these networks. While criminals and groups with malicious intent are spearheading this attempt, state or state-sponsored actions to disrupt these networks are also being identified as a potential danger. At the same time certain nations have felt that the free flow of information, considered to be the primary reason for the Internet’s success, could disturb societal peace and harmony. Even though governments have attempted to address these issues by creating national-level mechanisms, the very transnational nature of cyberspace has forced the international community to debate and form norms or rules that should promote good behaviour in cyberspace. As in the real world, there are varying and sometimes opposing views held by nations when it comes to governing cyberspace.
4. Cyberspace touches practically everything and everyone. It provides a platform for innovation and prosperity and the means to improve general welfare around the globe. But with the broad reach of a loose and lightly regulated digital infrastructure, great risks threaten nations, private enterprises,and individual rights. The government has a responsibility to address these strategic vulnerabilities to ensure that the United States and its citizens, together with the larger community of nations, can realize the full potential of the information technology revolution. The architecture of the Nation’s digital infrastructure, based largely upon the Internet, is not secure or resilient. Without major advances in the security of these systems or significant change in how they are constructed or operated, it is doubtful that the United States can protect itself from the growing threat of cybercrime and state-sponsored intrusions and operations. Our digital infrastructure has already suffered intrusions that have allowed criminals to steal hundreds of millions of dollars and nation-states and other entities to steal intellectual property and sensitive military information. Other intrusions threaten to damage portions of our critical infrastructure. These and other risks have the potential to undermine the Nation’s confidence in the information systems that underlie our economic and national security interests.
S: 1. Etymonline – https://bit.ly/2VU5df6; https://bit.ly/2QQ9mg0; https://bit.ly/2TLi414 (last access: 15 January 2019). 2. EJLT – https://bit.ly/2ssJYUb (last access: 15 January 2019). 3. ORF – https://bit.ly/2FtVwii (last access: 15 January 2019). 4. CPR – https://bit.ly/2FtHwoM (last access: 15 January 2019).
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CR: computer science, cybercrime, internet user, Internet , metaverse, virtual reality.
