PUBP 8823: Geopolitics of Cybersecurity
Instructional Team
Jon Lindsay
Creator, Instructor
Dan Fernandez
Head TA
Overview
This course provides students with a framework for interpreting power politics in and through cyberspace. The organizing assumption of the course is that classic concepts from international relations remain useful for understanding modern technologies, but they must be combined in new ways to explain the potential for exploitation and subversion at scale. The course provides tools for analyzing cyber power, which is organized deception via information systems for strategic advantage. Cyber power differs in important ways from military power, bargaining power, and soft power. Different political logics are often combined in practice, which creates complex strategic tradeoffs. Students will learn how to analyze these tradeoffs in modern cyber campaigns and in the use of cyber power for national security objectives.
Course Goals
The course is designed with two different kinds of students in mind: students of technology and students of politics. For students of technology, the book provides a gentle introduction to foundational concepts in international relations (IR). Technical knowledge is invaluable for understanding how cyber conflict works, but we also want to understand why it happens. IR is the study of power, wealth, and ideas in the global system. They provide context for technical operations. Upon completion of this course, you will understand how IR concepts of coordination, warfare, coercion, and deception can be applied to analyze cyber campaigns. This course could be called "IR for hackers".
For students of politics, the course explores the neglected problem of intelligence and covert action. Philosophers like Sun Tzu, Kautilya, and Machiavelli discuss espionage and deception. But secret statecraft is undertheorized in modern IR. The strategic logic of deception is interesting because it muddies distinctions between institutional cooperation and anarchic conflict, or liberalism and realism. Spies pretend to be trusted colleagues, and malware masquerades as legitimate software. Indeed, large-scale cooperation is the wellspring of cyber conflict. Upon completion of this course, you will understand how the paradoxical logic of deception is expressed in modern cyber campaigns. This course could be called "cooperation-enabled conflict".
Sample Syllabus
Note: Sample syllabi are provided for informational purposes only. For the most up-to-date information, consult the official course documentation.
Before Taking This Class...
Suggested Background Knowledge
There are no formal prerequisites for this course. Yet, all students should have some preparation in either the engineering or strategic foundations of cybersecurity. This may include but is not limited to cryptography, security engineering, network security, human behavior, public policy, or international security. This course is an interdisciplinary seminar where students will learn from their peers in other disciplines.
Technical Requirements and Software
- High-speed Internet connection
- Laptop or desktop computer with a minimum of a 2 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM
- Windows for PC computers OR Mac iOS for Apple computers
- Complete Microsoft Office Suite or comparable and ability to use Adobe PDF software (install, download, open and convert)
- Mozilla Firefox, Chrome and/or Safari browsers
Academic Integrity
All Georgia Tech students are expected to uphold the Georgia Tech Academic Honor Code. This course may impose additional academic integrity stipulations; consult the official course documentation for more information.