Cybercrime and its growing concerns
Cybercrime or cyber-attacks act out as a key concern where the advancement in technology proves futile for the individuals who have to bear the burn because of such instances. The deep integration of technology in the daily lives of the people makes it an easy target for cybercriminals to target such individuals for furthering their cause. These can stem from reasons of warfare, greed, or mere dominance to show that the criminal has the capacity to cause detriment to others (Yar and Steinmetz, 2019). There are times when cybercriminals attack the systems and lockout people, demanding money, and other times when the systems of one nation are impacted as an act of cyber warfare. The instances of cyber-attacks have grown in recent years and have seen mentioned in leading newspapers (Monteith et al., 2021).
One of the recent incidents that were covered in the BBC article by Joe Tidy covered the manner in which the European oil facilities were impacted by such attacks (Tidy, 2022). The purpose of the article published by Tidy was to draw attention to the continuous cyber security concerns that are prevalent in the oil industry, covering the discussion on the recent situation involving cyber-attacks on the European Oil Facility (EOP).
As per one of the studies undertaken in 2021, the cyber security authorities of the UK, US and Australia noted an increase in high-impact and sophisticated ransomware attacks across the globe, particularly against critical infrastructure. The National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have noted an increase in incidents that covered ransomware. This was in the context of US-based critical infrastructure sectors that covered examples from government facilities, information technology sectors, food and agriculture sector, defined industrial base and emergency services. The observations of the Australian Cyber Security Centre showed Australian critical infrastructure entities being targeted, including energy sectors, higher education and research sectors, financial services and markets, and the healthcare and medical sector. The National Cyber Security Centre of the UK recognised ransomware incidents as the most significant cyber threat faced by the nation. The top ransomware attack in the US was made in the education sector, along with the charities, businesses, public services and legal profession being targeted in the health and local government sectors (2021 Trends Show Increased Globalised Threat of Ransomware | CISA, 2022).
To put in perspective how cybercrimes affect the world, one can look at an estimate of damages put forth in 2021, where the cost of such attacks was $6 trillion USD globally. This would make cybercrime the third-largest economy in the world after US and China. These costs of cybercrime are expected to rise by 15% each year for the coming five years, as per Cybersecurity Ventures, whereby 2025, it is expected to reach $10.5 trillion USD from the figure of 2015, which stood at $3 trillion USD. This is deemed as the greatest transfer of economic wealth historically, where the risk of incentive for investment and innovation can be best deemed exponentially larger in comparison to the damage caused by a natural disaster of a year. This is even more profitable in comparison to all the major illegal drugs global trade combined (Morgan, 2020).
The continuous cyber security concerns in the oil industry
Now that the impact of globalisation and cybercrime has been understood, one can look back at the elements of Tidy’s article to understand the interplay of the two concepts in this article. The BBC article was able to demonstrate the manner in which cyber-attacks take place, and this was made evident through the discussion of the attack on three different nation’s companies and how it affected operations across the globe (Tidy, 2022). The fact was that the attack took place on a global scale. Further, the sector targeted by the attackers is the oil industry, which provides products and services to nations all over the world. This suggests that the impact will be felt by multiple countries and will not be limited to physical borders, reflecting the theme of globalisation owing to the dependency on oil (Nasir et al., 2015). Oil is something that already has high value across the globe. To push the prices further in times of war can be deemed as one of the possible motivations of this attack, albeit such a possibility was denied by the experts.
The BBC article can be referred to show the role of globalisation and the manner in which it creates the dependency of the world on each other. If one nation’s activities are impacted, it has a global impact due to the blurred lines that result from globalisation (Gorynia, 2019). Globalisation means that an attack made in one part of the globe is not restricted to one nation and has crossed boundaries, which can again be attributed to the trade taking openly across the globe. The global cyber-attacks of the three companies impacted the working of several European nations and even impacted the ports of Africa, showing the power of globalisation and its limitations as well (Tidy, 2022). In case the world was not so open and where the nations were not dependent on each other, such instances would not have been possible, particularly in such a manner that entire continents covering a group of nations had to bear the consequences of one such cyber-attack event (Johnson, 2016).
Here, reference can be made to the globalisation theory that adopts a hyperglobalist approach. This theory states that the world has entered a global age, where the dominance of global capitalism is legalised (Parjanadze, 2009). This is quite true in cases of cyber-attacks, where it is clear that everyone is in a global age and that capitalism, in the form of earning rewards by disrupting services of other nations, is one of the reasons why such attacks are undertaken. The intensive completion amongst the nations is thus a primary reason for such attacks. One can also deem such attacks as the need for establishing supremacy and showing the power of one nation over the other, particularly when such attacks are state-sponsored.
As covered in the previous segment in the discussion of globalisation, the role of technology in the discussed event is most crucial. Cyber-attacks have been possible because technology has evolved many times since its birth (Goutam, 2015). The level of cyber-attacks has also seen a complex enhancement in the manner in which these are undertaken. The cyber-attacks are persistent and advanced, so much so that they can ruin the reputation and operations of any company, as was seen in the BBC article, about the oil companies (Tidy, 2022). There is a range of assets that are managed through technology, covering the applications and infrastructure, coupled with mobile devices, cloud services, and managed and unmanaged endpoints, which can easily be attacked (Cybersecurity in Oil & Gas, 2022). Every day, the cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated in their techniques, which do seem like advancement in technology, but in a sense, which proves futile for others. Despite the plethora of cyber security measures that have been deployed by companies and governments, it seems that the cybercriminals always have the edge, and this is the reason that the number of cybercriminals and cybercrimes is growing every day (Eddolls, 2016).
The rise of ransomware attacks across the globe
The reason why cyber-attacks on the oil and gas industry are crucial in nature is the fact that this is a source, which already is sold at a high price (Beck, 2019). The dependence of the world on oil and gas cannot be emphasised enough. It forms the central part of how half the machinery works. The manner in which these cyber-attacks were undertaken, particularly in the tough times as discussed above, does show a superior motive. A carefully planned cyber-attack thus essentially has the possibility of pushing the prices of a product, particularly when such a product already has high demand and where the key suppliers of such a product are busy in a war with each other. Thus, despite the experts denying the notion that these attacks have been undertaken in a planned manner, one cannot outrightly reject this possibility. Cyber-attacks are thus a pristine and clever manner in which the technology can be manipulated by a few for their benefit and to even manipulate the people across the globe, which has been possible due to globalisation (Deora and Chudasama, 2021).
While stating this, it is crucial to state that the cyber world is not all bad. There are several benefits as well that this world can offer. Cyber security has the power of saving lives as well (Rios, 2015). Where there is a successful cyber security measure adopted by companies, which has a layered defence approach, it does bring with it the possibility of saving lives. The advent of technology has brought many advantages to a different spheres of life. The oil and gas industry itself is reliant on technology because of the fruits it offers. However, the act of a few has charred technological advancements as a thing that has to be properly guarded. There is thus a need to weigh the risks and benefits offered by the technological advancements to ensure that these do not end up proving to be a threat, which unfortunately is happening in the present time (Terp, 2021).
When it comes to cyber-attacks, several newspaper articles can be referred to shed light on the technology component of the situation. Considering that cyber-attacks have become more common, this article will be beneficial in comprehending this problem. The article clearly highlights the cyber-attack as a real-world problem, where a person from any nation could target the operation of another nation and bring a slowdown in the business of such another nation. The attack on SEA-Invest terminals is a classic example of how cyber security is crucial in the present-day and how technological advancements have the capacity of hampering the normal operations of a company (Tidy, 2022).
In the context of technological advancements, reference can be made to some theoretical perspectives as well. The determinist view states that technological development cannot be stopped and that no efforts should be made to resist it (Kerr, 2019). The present world is a clear reflection of this, as the world is deeply integrated into technology and its offerings. However, the latter part of this theory is not something that can be applied, particularly in the context of cybercrime and cyber-attacks. Within this context, one can link the cyber-attacks to modern warfare (Arquilla, 2021). As stated earlier, countries do resort to such means of maintaining their dominance in this global village.
The economic impact of cyber crime on the world
Karl Marx first developed the conflict theory that states that the society remains in a state of conflict, on a perpetual basis, due to the competition between the nations for limited resources. As per this theory, in order to maintain social order, power and dominance is required instead of relying on conformity and consensus (Dahrendorf, 2017). The goal under this theory is to hold on to power and wealth by any means possible. This theme is clearly reflected in cyber-attacks and cybercrimes that take place across the globe. The goal is to get access to people’s data or to disrupt their work to gain a competitive edge. There are also times where such attacks are undertaken to show the power that the hackers or such attackers have. The goal of attaining dominance thus remains the key in such cases, which is majorly reflected in the need of showing control over others (Jiang, 2019).
The Russia and Ukraine war is a leading example of the conflict that is presently causing a lot of uncertainty across the world. The BBC article covers references to cyber-attacks and to this conflict, showing global unrest. The two nations are at war because of different reasons, which are not the focus of discussion, but does show that there is already unrest going on in one part of the world. This conflict between the two nations has caused a global unrest, and even has brought a fear of war between the nations (The Ukraine War: A Global Crisis?, 2022). The conflict demonstrated by Tidy (2022) is in form of the cyber-attack on companies including Oiltanking Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG. Even though this attack has not been deemed as a coordinated attack, it does show that the goal is to cause conflict and to negate the working of different nations. When different nations work in sync, and smooth operations continue between them, it is not accepted by people who are not happy with peace. Peace brings prosperity, which reflects as a sense of cooperation. However, such cooperation is not long-lasting, as there are people who continue to act out as a problem. The cybercriminals of the attacks that took place on the three companies prove to be such an example. The goal of these attacks has not been made clear till now. However, when three companies of the same industry are targeted, along with the same continent being targeted, it does point towards a situation of conflict. Even if these are not presently being deemed as targeted attacks, and can possibly be due to the estimates of experts regarding the attack being possible due to a data access or malware content, the theme of conflict is still present (Tidy, 2022).
Deutsch’s Theory of Cooperation and Competition offers good insights on the manner in which cooperation can benefit different nations and people across the globe. This theory is based on the notion that the members in an organisation are dependent on each other. When they are able to join forces, they are able to reach great height. As per this theory, cooperation is positively related and in this situation, people perceive their attainment of goal as positively related. As against this, in a competition situation, the goals are deemed as negatively linked. Lastly, the individualised situation results in goals being perceived as unrelated (Deutsch, 2015). In the digital age, when the different nations join their efforts to combat something, it results in a cooperation stage. Thus, when the nations work on cyber security measures, they help each other combat the problem of cybercrimes. The manner in which such collaborative efforts work towards cooperation can be reflected in the support that is being offered by the Anonymous hacktivist collective to Ukraine, by using the technology as a measure and launching cyber-attacks at Russia. Although, within these measures of cooperation, the element of conflict is reflected that shows the clash between conflict and cooperation from a practical stance (Issa, 2022).
The impact of globalisation on cyber-attacks
The article highlights how several companies of different nations were impacted by the cyber-attacks (Tidy, 2022). This makes it crucial for the theme of cooperation to be adopted by the nations, so that they can curb the cyber-attacks originated from their territorial boundaries. The article does touch upon the reliance of different companies and nations on each other, which is a reflection on the manner in which the nations offer cooperation to each other to grow together. Where there is coordination between two nations, the trade can run in a smooth manner, as one nation can act as a supplier and the other can act as the distributor of such a product. The reliance of companies on the attacked ports is an example of this. Where the operation of three companies has a capacity of halting the operations across Europe and Africa, it does show the manner in which effective cooperation between these nations has allowed for the business to expand and for the nations to reap benefits from these associations (Tidy, 2022). Thus, it is not wrong to state that this article does not only highlight a problem, rather it does show the manner in which coordination and cooperation between the companies have allowed for a growth of business of different nations.
Conclusion and Discussion
The growing era of digital world coupled with the blurred physical, boundaries, between the different nations, have brought many advantages. The world is more connected now and any person in the world can reach out to another, thereby allowing them to increase their knowledge, business and several such spheres of life. There is also an enhanced cooperation between the nations due to growing reliance in different areas of trade, commerce, and healthcare among the other fields (Sassen, 2015). However, with this bright side, is the dark side of the moon as well. There are several disadvantages that have been brought forth as a result of growing reliance on technology and blurred physical boundaries. This is because the internet allows entry into the homes and other areas to people, who may not always have the best interest at heart. This is where the negative impact of technology and globalisation comes into play (Ritzer and Dean, 2019).
It goes without saying that the selected article was able to highlight three themes of this discussion. These were globalisation, technology, and conflict and cooperation. The dependence of the world on each other for products like oil and gas makes it an easy target for the cybercriminals to show their advancement and dominance in the technology and its elements. Owing to the physical boundaries of different nations becoming blurry, which has been possible due to deep dependence on each other made possible from the concept of globalisation, the events like cyber-attack does put many nations at a standstill or slow-moving position. The advancement of technology has essentially opened another gate for the criminals to fulfil their objectives, be it greed, dominance or warfare. The multiple companies being cyber attacked thus shows the interplay of the three concepts of this discussion. There is thus a need for a more comprehensive solution to be put forth by the companies and governments of different nations, so as to effectively curb such events, which are estimated to attract costs in several billions across the globe.
The role of technology in cyber-attacks
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is not wrong to state that cyber-attacks are a major problem, which comes with the inherent theme of creating conflict and to destroy the cooperation between different nations. These incidents often lead to blame games between different participants, thereby threatening the integrity and peace across the different nations. The need of pushing a conflict like situation in situation when the world is already on an edge, due to Russia Ukraine conflict, points towards two different things. The first one is the need to push prices of oil and gas products, due to the on-going war between Russia and War. The two nations are key suppliers of oil and gas products across the globe. The war has already put these prices in a tight spot. With the attacks on ports of Europe and Africa, the sensitivity of the oil and gas industry has further been enhanced. The second point here is the creation of a threat like situation on the other side of the globe, which was, till now, untouched by such a turmoil situation. Thus, such a cyber-attack on different companies can have an ulterior motive, which for now, has been discredited by the experts.
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