Use of Cybertools in Regional Tensions in Southeast Asia

Author(s): Marie Baezner
Journal Title: CSS Cyber Defense Hotspot Analysis
Issue: 11
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich
Publication Year: 2018

This CSS Hotspot Analysis examines the use of cybertools in the context of tensions over territorial claims involving China and other states in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea. Southeast Asia has a rapidly developing digital economy and attracts substantial investment, but cyberspace in the region has become a place for cyberespionage campaigns, which involve actors spying on adversaries, businesses and international organizations. These activities increase the risk of misinterpretation and misattribution in cyberspace, thereby increasing the potential for an escalation of conventional conflict. The analysis also details the international effects of these cyber-activities, including how ASEAN has become a platform for the discussion of cybersecurity.

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