How Businesses Can Promote Cyber Peace

88 Pages Posted: 10 Feb 2014 Last revised: 26 Aug 2014

See all articles by Scott Shackelford

Scott Shackelford

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Department of Business Law; Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs; Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research; Stanford Center for Internet and Society; Stanford Law School

Timothy L. Fort

George Washington University - Department of Strategic Management & Public Policy

Jamie Darin Prenkert

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Department of Business Law

Date Written: February 10, 2014

Abstract

The multifaceted cyber threat is increasingly impacting the bottom lines of firms and is spilling over into larger issues of geopolitical importance including international security. Firms, in particular managers and boards of directors, are at the epicenter of this storm, but so far surveys have revealed that few businesses are taking the necessary steps to safeguard their private data and enhance cybersecurity. As Howard A. Schmidt, the former U.S. Cybersecurity Coordinator, stated: “[W]hile there is a cost to doing more to improve cybersecurity, there is a bigger cost if we do not and that cost is measured not only in dollars, but in national security and public safety.” A rich literature has developed on how the private sector can contribute to peacebuilding and the promotion of human rights, but so far this perspective has not been fully explored in ongoing debates over how to enhance cybersecurity. This Article addresses this omission by reviewing the positive role that businesses can play in conflict dynamics, such as by fostering communications between antagonists and acting as norm entrepreneurs identifying and instilling best practices, and applying these findings to the cybersecurity context. Given the slow progress of both U.S. Congressional and multilateral cybersecurity policymaking, the time is ripe for a fresh perspective on how firms can help proactively foster cyber peace in a world increasingly being drawn into cyber conflict.

Keywords: cybersecurity, polycentric governance, business and human rights, cyber peace, mediating institutions

Suggested Citation

Shackelford, Scott J. and Fort, Timothy L. and Prenkert, Jamie Darin, How Businesses Can Promote Cyber Peace (February 10, 2014). University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 2015, Kelley School of Business Research Paper No. 2014-27, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2393528 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2393528

Scott J. Shackelford (Contact Author)

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Department of Business Law ( email )

Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs ( email )

79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research ( email )

Wylie Hall 105
100 South Woodlawn
Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

Stanford Center for Internet and Society ( email )

Palo Alto, CA
United States

Stanford Law School ( email )

Stanford, CA 94305
United States

Timothy L. Fort

George Washington University - Department of Strategic Management & Public Policy ( email )

Washington, DC 20052
United States

Jamie Darin Prenkert

Indiana University - Kelley School of Business - Department of Business Law ( email )

Bloomington, IN 47405
United States

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