Explaining variation in state involvement in cyber attacks: A social network approach

Abstract

Cyber attacks pose an increasing threat to the international system. However, not all states are involved in cyber attacks to the same degree. This chapter asks how we might best explain variation in the involvement of states in cyber attacks across the international system. Conceiving the inter-state system as a social network, we hypothesize that as the global interconnectedness of a state increases so will its involvement in cyber attacks. Our regression models provide support for the contention that the more connected a state is to other states in the international system, the more likely it is to be involved in cyber attacks. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland.