The ubiquitous use of ICT by various kinds of applications has penetrated almost all social practices and influences our way of thinking, our interactions with others and our roles as citizens, workers and consumers. These complex, often delicate technologies make the world a richer, more efficient and very interactive place. However, they also make it relatively fragile, as it becomes difficult to keep industries and support systems functioning when something disrupts computer controls and monitors. Furthermore, the growth of the Internet of Things and the fact that businesses and public institutions increasingly integrate their operations makes this connectivity even more vulnerable to unauthorized access.
This increasing vulnerability led to alarming statistics along with comprise of confidential and sensitive data resulting from misuse of technology has brought cybersecurity to the forefront. Equifax, JP Morgan, and Target are just a few of the recent cases that remind us of the importance of understanding various threats, vulnerabilities, and ethical issues associated with the Internet.
Therefore, cybersecurity has become a matter of global interest and importance. A particular characteristics of today’s cybersecurity discourse is an almost constant emphasis on ever-increasing and diverse set of threat forms, ranging from basic computer viruses to cybercrime and cyberespionage activities, as well as cyber-terror and cyberwar. The threat to (national) security arising from cyberspace is presented as a possible disruption of a specific way of life, one building on information technologies and critical functions of infrastructures. This makes it easier for state actors to even militarize cyber-security and (re-)assert their power in cyberspace.
However, the current emphasis of cybersecurity on the governmental level may be a limited approach given that cybersecurity is a shared responsibility within business setting that requires both technical and nontechnical measures. This track invites papers to identify and explore the challenges, vulnerabilities and solutions that promote cybersecurity. It includes but not limited to contributions that outline general problems associated with the ethics and sociology of cybersecurity; that present practical ethical and social issues associated with cybersecurity including exemplary cases emerging from various application domains and that present solutions on how to deal with ethical and social cybersecurity issues.