ABSTRACT
To illustrate how and the potential consequences, this chapter examines two cases in which the Internet facilitates cybersecurity threats and opportunities in the 21st century: Stuxnet and WikiLeaks. From cyber threats to cybersecurity to cyber opportunities and cyber vulnerabilities to cyberdefense and cyber power, not to mention cyber warfare in cyberspace, a new language is being created. The US Cyber Consequences Unit estimates that more than 70% of known cyber attacks originate from computers located outside of the United States, thus illustrating the ways in which cyber threats are global in nature. The chapter provides a summary of the complex web of competing interests, explanations, and policy recommendations that animate the emerging field of cybersecurity studies. Both Stuxnet and WikiLeaks have clear links with the Middle East, but neither case study focuses upon a process that originated in the region at the grass roots.
