Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge follows a long line of books that tap into America's preoccupation with retaining its pole position as the repository of cutting edge technology, and the resultant dominance this offers it across the political, economic and military spectrum. These books are a subset within the wider pre-occupation of responding to the rise of the Asian powers, and a shift of the geopolitical centre of gravity from the Euro-Atlantic to the Asian landmass.
Even as imagined and real cyber security threats scale new heights, the story coming out of the recently concluded Second International Conference on Cyberspace in Budapest was one of a widening gulf between countries, notwithstanding the stated intent of bridging differences through dialogue.
The two recent malware attacks on energy companies in West Asia are particularly worrisome since they represent a rapid escalation in capabilities and intent on the part of the perpetrators.
There is an ongoing global competition to gain dominance in the space and cyber domains; while going it alone might be the best policy, collaboration with clearly laid out guidelines and end-goals is not without its benefits.
The absence of agreed norms of conduct in cyberspace and the scope for conducting a myriad range of malafide activities with limited risk of retribution is leading to both vertical and horizontal proliferation of such activities.
Where the next headline grabbing cyber event would take place or in what form is difficult to predict, though it could well be perpetrated by a class that is yet to open its account, the cyber terrorist.
Cyber security cooperation should be a natural area of cooperation between India and the United States for a number of reasons; both countries are democracies, with similar values and economic systems, and both have also been severely affected by threats emanating from cyberspace. The structural complementarities between the two economies, especially in the services sector, which is a major user of cyber networks provides further motive for the two countries to cooperate in this sector.
The present state of affairs indicates that India will continue to be a reservoir of talent for other countries to power their growth, than the global innovation powerhouse that it aspires to be.
A widening gap between rhetoric and reality will only lead to cynicism, and the gap can be narrowed only by establishing habits of cooperation that can withstand the vicissitudes of change, whether it be of governments or priorities.
Some takeaways from the Budapest Conference on Cyberspace
Even as imagined and real cyber security threats scale new heights, the story coming out of the recently concluded Second International Conference on Cyberspace in Budapest was one of a widening gulf between countries, notwithstanding the stated intent of bridging differences through dialogue.