About Our Project
The purpose of our student-driven research is to comprehensively assess the legal and policy constraints facing U.S. cyber operations in the Indo-Pacific region. This region is not just critical to the U.S. National Security Strategy. It is also an area of resource abundance, nascent alliances, emerging technologies, and a majority of the world’s population. These ingredients create an environment that demands an American cyber presence.
To support a U.S. cyber presence in the region that is both informed and collaborative, this research proceeds in three ways. First, descriptively: This research maps the legal and policy “terrain” that shapes the cyber operations of the U.S., its allies, and its adversaries. Second, prescriptively: Considering the current legal and policy landscape, this research proposes ways that the U.S. and its allies should change the legal and policy terrain to further their goals. Third, practically: Given macro-level changes take time, this research identifies the ways in which the U.S. can move within the existing legal terrain to further its cyber aims.
Accomplishing these research efforts requires both an adversary and ally focus. In focusing on adversaries, our project pays particular attention to the domestic law of the United States and the People's Republic of China. These countries take differing views on acceptable actions in cyberspace. This project assesses (1) how those perspectives manifest in domestic law, (2) how those laws enable geopolitical competition (“lawfare”), (3) and how that competition in turn shapes the Indo-Pacific cyber environment. Additionally, this research focus assesses how international law asymmetrically constrains rule-of-law countries in cyberspace.
In focusing on American allies, our project identifies how the United States can bolster their cybersecurity. Rather than focus on proven methods like information sharing and joint cyber exercises, the research seeks new mechanisms.
This project is an extension from a previous project by Team Cyber Pacific at the Global Disinformation Lab. That project ran from 2022 to 2024.
What Our Students Learn
The Cyber Pacific Project gives student researchers an opportunity to explore the changing landscape of cybersecurity in the Indo-Pacific. Through the project, researchers learn:
Cyber Policy Expertise. With assistance from the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, students gain deep expertise on current trends in the world of cybersecurity and technology.
China, Taiwan, and Japan Expertise. American interest in the Western Pacific is at historically high levels and will only grow over the years. Students get ahead of the curve by learning about key actors in the new center of global affairs.
Policy Development and Communication. Students have the chance to polish public-facing policy writing and briefing skills in a supportive environment.
Threatcasting Methodology. Students learn about a novel analytical method that security and industrial professionals across the world use to aid decision making in dynamic environments.
Acknowledgement
Our project is made possible by the generous support of the U.S. Army Cyber Institute at West Point.
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