January 7, 2013 – #theCUBE traveled to Cambridge, MA to cover Exploration in Cyber International Relations, an event held on the campus of MIT.

Cyber Governance, a topic you are certain to here more about in 2014, was at center stage of the Exploration in Cyber International Relations, ECIR, conference. ECIR is a collaborative and interdisciplinary research program that seeks to create a field of international cyber relations for the 21st century. It is designed as a theoretically rich, and technically informed initiative anchored in diverse tools and methods to identify, measure, model, interpret, and analyze emergent issues, challenges, and responses.

The ECIR research plan integrates social sciences, legal studies, computer science, and policy analysis. The research team brings together personnel and institutional resources from MIT and Harvard.

The Vision of the ECIR group is to create a new knowledge domain of cyber international relations that is multidisciplinary, theory-driven, technically and empirically anchored such that it:

• Clarifies threats and opportunities in cyberspace for national security, welfare, and influence;
• Provides analytical tools for understanding and managing “real” and cyber transformation and change;
• and Attracts and educates a new generation of researchers, scholars, and analysts. A related objective is to provide the U.S. government with useful tools and insights into the emergent complexity of the new realities.

Why Is Internet Governance Important?

A little bit of background on why this is such an important topic, the recent revelations made by Eric Snowden, former NSA contractor, has brought cyber security to the forefront of diplomatic discussion amongst our world leaders. The fact of the matter is that presently the internet is governed by a few organizations that have separate responsibilities, one of them being ICANN, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a non-profit organization responsible for the coordination of the global Internet’s systems of unique identifiers and, in particular, ensuring its stable and secure operation and proclaimed by many to be the most power influencer in internet governance. ICANN currently is under the contract of the United States Department of Commerce. See why other countries might have a gripe with this relationship?

For several years it has been rumored that ICANN will cut ties with the US Dept. of Commerce, however, this has yet to come to fruition. For now they still have oversight over ICANN and several nations are concerned, including Russia, China and Germany are concerned about the effect this will have on the future of the Internet. The level of concern is so high that they have considered creating their own fragmented parts of the internet. Information about German Chancellor Merkel’s considerations can be found here.

A fragmented internet is where the true danger lies, according to Fadi Chehade, President & CEO, ICANN, who visited theCUBE at the ECIR conference. On theCUBE Chehade noted that their would be major friction between Countries should a fragmented internet come to existence, having a major effect on international policy and a drastic increase in the cost of doing business online. Presently, Chehade is visiting with the leaders of nations all over the globe, he told theCUBE that he is visiting with 3 to 4 a week, to explain the current state of cyber governance and the importance of figuring out a solution to make the internet a level playing field for all.

Yes, it is a bit confusing, and more questions arise as one looks deeper and deeper into the issue at large. Joseph Nye, former Dean of The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, told theCUBE that we are on our on 10 yard line in terms of coming to a solution for cyber governance. However, this will be an on going issue for as long as the Internet remains the essential connector for international commerce. Below are the interviews we conducted at ECIR to help further advance the conversations of cyber governance.

theCUBE Interviews At #MITECIR

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Nazli Choucri, Professor of Political Science, MIT
Nazli was the first guest on theCUBE at ECIR where she joined theCUBE hosts, Dave & Jeff, to discuss how the ECIR began and the gap between cyberspace and politics. Nazli also discusses why having the United States presiding over cyberspace is unsustainable.

What is next for the ECIR? Watch The Highlights Here

Joseph Nye, former Dean of The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Joseph visited theCUBE at ECIR to discuss the latest in cyber governance. Joseph likens the present controversy to the that of nuclear proliferation and talks about the effect that media had on cyber governance.

Did Stuxnet open Pandora’s box? Watch The Highlights Here

Venkatesh Narayanamurti, Professor of Physics, Harvard University
Venkatesh joined theCUBE hosts, Dave & Jeff, to talk about the current state of cyberspace governance, in particular the sustainability of the present governance. Additionally, Venkatesh discusses the difference between the alignment of government and commerce in both China and the United States and entertains the topic of major enterprise companies such as Google and Amazon paying users for their data.

Do we need to rethink cyber security? Watch The Highlights Here

Fadi Chehade, President & CEO, ICANN
Fadi, one of the most influential men in cyberspace, joined theCUBE host, Dave, and guest host, Charles M. Sennott, for a conversation about the current state of ICANN and cyberspace governance. Fadi provides his take on a variety of topics including the notion that the deck has been stacked in the United States favor when it comes to web commerce and why Brazil will play a critical role in the future of internet governance.

Are our world leaders prepared to make decisions about cyber governance? Watch The Highlights Here

Al Berkely, Chairman, Princeton Capital Management
Al visited theCUBE to talk about the effect cyber governance has on the financial sector of our economy. In his discussion with theCUBE host, Dave, and GlobalPost editor, Charles M. Sennott, Al talks about cyber security and his perspective on cryptocurrency.

Is the present cyber governance sustainable? Watch The Highlights Here

Adam Segal, Senior Fellow for China Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
Adam, an expert on United States foreign relations in China, visited theCUBE to discuss the relationship between in the two countries in cyberspace. Adam breaks down the effect that Eric Snowden has had on the relationship and provides an update on China’s censorship technology.

How can the United States improve their cyber relationship with the Chinese? Watch The Highlights Here

Erin Fitzgerald, PhD, Program Director, Minerva Research Initiative & Michael Sulmeyer, Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy
Erin and Michael visited theCUBE at ECIR to talk about the Minerva Research Initiative and cyberspace initiatives at the Secretary of Defense. Erin talks to theCUBE host, Dave, about the evolution of cyber governance and where the United States best interests are going forward.

Want to know what is next for Minerva Research? Watch The Highlights Here

Herbert Lin, Chief Scientist, National Research Council of the National Academies
Herbert visited theCUBE to review the last decade in cyber governance and talk about the idea of self defense in cyberspace. Herbert along with theCUBE host, Dave, and guest host, Charles M. Sennott, debate who has the best offensive cyberspace tactics and talk about the sustainability of the current Internet governance.

What is the impact of offensive cyber attacks? Watch The Highlights Here

David Clark, Senior Research Scientist, Computer Science and Artificial Laboratory, MIT
David joined theCUBE host, Dave, to talk about the future of governance in cyberspace and the relationship between social and computer science. In this conversation David provides his opinion about the evolution of the internet and what needs to occur for people to truly start paying attention to internet security.

How will the future internet be shaped? Watch The Highlights Here