By Ahissa Rice
Last month I took part in the "Cyber Conflict: Lessons from the Indo-Pacific" workshop hosted at the Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore alongside Dr. Aaron Brantly. This workshop brought together scholars, policymakers and cyber security experts to address important cyber challenges in the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Brantly and I presented a paper on “The Impact of Censorship and Surveillance in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh: A Comparative Analysis.” Following the two-day workshop and discussions of regional cyber challenges I also had the chance to listen in on a roundtable discussion during Singapore International Cyber Week, where participants shifted the conversation to emerging threats in our increasingly AI-driven world. What impacted me most about these events were how they highlighted the interactions going on between cyber security challenges and emerging technical threats, and how they provided a meaningful understanding of the evolving strategies that these policymakers and scholars are currently grappling with. Below I will share my experiences and takeaways from the discussions that took place during the workshop and related meetings and how it has enhanced my own understanding of cyber resilience in the Indo-Pacific.
The LKY School of Public Policy offered a great setting for the discussions during the workshop about the cyber security challenges and opportunities in the Indo-Pacific region. There were prestigious scholars and experts from around the world in attendance. Each brought a unique perspective on how cyber conflict is evolving in the region. Throughout all the discussions, we focused on four questions, the characteristics of regional cyber conflict, pressing challenges facing the Indo-Pacific, gaps in current research, and the potential paths forward.
The discussions in Singapore provided a platform for experts to share their research and findings but also provided a venue for collaboration and facilitated critical insights into how challenges are evolving. If there's one thing that became clear during those two days, it's that there's nothing simple about cybersecurity in the Indo-Pacific. The workshop revealed just how complicated current challenges are and accentuated how important it is to have events like this to facilitate dialogue between experts and policymakers. This dialogue shape more effective responses to combat emerging cyber threats.
On the workshop's second day, Dr. Brantly and I presented our paper examining censorship and surveillance practices in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Our paper was well received by the other attendees, and we got valuable feedback. Our research demonstrates the ongoing struggle that South Asia is currently facing in digital governance frameworks. The workshop participants were able to provide substantial feedback on our research and helped us to think through the methodological approach and theoretical frameworks within which we examined digital governance. Our research facilitated an engaging discussion about how democratic nations in South Asia are increasingly using advanced digital control mechanisms and how this trend raises questions regarding privacy and freedom especially in democracies. The other discussants at the workshop gave us valuable feedback that encouraged us to sharpen our focus on why surveillance tactics are being embraced by regional democracies. We also received praise for our analysis of legal and regulatory frameworks. When we presented our research one question that really stood out to me was on regime stability: Is it regime stability, rather than regime type, that drives censorship in the region? I thought this was such an interesting question and something that would be interesting to explore further in the future.
The workshop also offered valuable insights into regional cyber security issues by the other discussants. One of the other papers presented examined China’s role in the region. Another analyzed potential cyber scenarios in Taiwan and drew attention to the complicated interplay of regional politics and cyber capabilities. On the second day the conference hosted a roundtable discussion titled "The Evolution and Future of Cyber Conflict in the Indo-Pacific." The roundtable panelists talked about how cyber threats are navigated very differently in the Indo-Pacific nations compared to the how they are handled in the West. The roundtable members also discussed how different regional sensitivities are balanced and what those sensitivities mean in relation to national security dynamics and politics in the area. Indo-Pacific states tend to stay silent when it comes to addressing cyber-attacks. The question of why these nations stay silent became a recurring topic of discussion throughout the workshop, and many attacks were acknowledged by speakers as having potential origins from China. The question as to why do Indo-Pacific nations stay silent when it comes to Chinese led cyber attacks? I couldn't help but think, during this discussion, how the research Dr. Brantly is doing on digital control mechanisms suggests that regional cyber security challenges extend far beyond just technical capabilities and considers all the complicated diplomatic and political aspects that arise in cyberspace. The workshop ended with a call for all the authors revise their papers using the feedback they received and prepare to submit the papers together for a special issue next year.
Another interesting roundtable organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies I attended was on the “Building AI-resilient societies.” The event took place after the workshop at Singapore International Cyber Week. The roundtable brought together policy-makers and academics from around the world to discuss how emerging technologies may continue to further complicate the balance between national security and digital rights. Multiple representatives from both Asian and Western Nations were present on the panel which was conducted under Chatham House Rules. The roundtable discussion went by quickly as each speaker briefly introduced the topics their nations considered most central or pressing. After the primary panelists spoke, the floor opened to questions and discussion for the final 20 minutes and a vibrant dialogue ensued.
Overall, the workshop in Singapore linked muiple themes including the tension between national security interests and digital rights. It brought to the forefront many of the regional challenges that still need to be addressed. There seems to be a deep regional reluctance to publicly address and attribute cyber threats, particularly those originating from major powers like China. This silence only continues to highlight just how complicated the political, economic and social connections are in the Indo-Pacific. It also indicates a fertile ground for future research. This trip further cemented my commitment to studying these issues. My time with the Tech4Humanity Lab has helped me navigate and learn about many complex security issues and not just study these issues from afar but engage with these issues on the ground with experts.