INFORMATION CHALLENGES TO NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Development and wide use of new information and communication technologies (ICT) is a natural stage of economic and scientific progress and indispensable condition for normal social development. But spread of ICT, however, has some negative consequences when they are employed to undermine global stability, international and national security, against sovereignty and non-interference into internal affairs, in violation of human rights and freedoms.

Emergence of a new type of weapons - information weapons - has a significant impact on any state that may become their target. Cyber weapons make dramatic changes to traditional military concepts. Globalization of information space requires international regulation mechanisms for the use of ICT.

Taking into account the importance of ICT in modern world and recognizing their connection to international security issues, arms control and nonproliferation, the PIR Center launched in January 2001 the aforementioned project "Information Challenges to National and International Security".

The objectives of the project are:

• to analyze the threats posed by development of ICT and growing digital divide between developed and developing states;
• to assess the ICT impact on international and national security;
• to encourage public awareness of these problems and to promote exchange of ideas within the expert community.

The PIR Center published in August 2001 a book "Information Challenges to National and International Security", whose contributors are governmental officials and members of research institutions: the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Federal Agency for Governmental Communication and Information (FAPSI), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Ministry of the Interior (MOI), the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of System Analysis of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Editors of the book are Dr. (Physics and Math) Alexander Fyodorov and Dr. of Science, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Vitaly Tsygichko.

The opening addresses to this publication were made by leading Russian politicians - First Deputy Secretary of the Security Council Vladislav Sherstyuk, Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov, and Chairman of the Duma’s Committee for International Affairs Dmitry Rogozin.

According to Vladislav Sherstyuk, "An essential element of the efforts to form the information society is to ensure its security. The latter may be attained by maintaining security of national information infrastructures of every country in the world and by providing security of the global information infrastructure in general, as a technological basis for world cyberspace."

The objective of this book is to provide analysis of information security issues for governmental officials, experts, and general public and to promote awareness of threats that may be posed by misuse of ICT.

The book may serve as a source of information on international information security and its aspects for politicians, diplomats, military, scholars, businessmen, governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The book may also become a basis for further edition of the textbook for those who are interested in studying information security issues.

The appendix contains review of appropriate legislation, glossary of terms and UN documents on information security.

Within the framework of the project, the PIR Center held the Midweek Brainstorming meeting in January 2001, which brought together Representative of Russia to the DOT Force Mikhail Yakushev, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Information Security (MEPhI) Alexander Tolstoy, Col. Vladimir Novikov, Head of the Department of Electronic and Information Warfare (SMF Academy), and other experts. The participants agreed that at present, Russia only starts to realize the role of information technologies and their impact on social life. This problem gets undue attention and this is why the need for open discussion involving experts from different related areas exists.

For more information contact PIR Junior Research Associate Dmitry Kovchegin by phone (095) 234-0525; fax (095) 234-9558 or by e-mail kovchegin@pircenter.org