Systemic Racism Is A Cybersecurity Threat

Excerpt originally published by the Council for Foreign Relations from the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program and Net Politics, written by Camille Stewart, Esq.

Understanding how systemic racism influences cybersecurity is integral to protecting the American people, deterring U.S. adversaries, and defending American businesses as the United States seeks to return to its position of international leadership.

For years there have been well documented discussions about the need to expand gender and racial diversity in cybersecurity. People have argued that if we address social and systemic issues separately, we will get the technology right. However, the social and the technological are mutually constitutive. Bringing in new points of view is crucial to cybersecurity, but we also have to change the systems in which technology is embedded and review technology against the backdrop of larger systemic issues to reduce vulnerabilities.

Technical and policy mitigations in cybersecurity need to account for the weaknesses of our society, systems, and institutions in their implementations. The places where democracy breaks down and the ugliness of our past sins are laid bare and unaddressed are where we are most vulnerable. Technical and policy mitigations to cybersecurity challenges will never reach their full potential until systemic racism is addressed and diverse voices are reflected among our ranks at all levels.

Cyber diplomacy and international cyber capacity building are better served by having diverse representation that understands the cultural nuances that determine how technology will move through a society. For example, China is heavily investing in digital infrastructure in Africa and the Caribbean and playing a larger role in regional and multilateral bodies, shifting influence away from Europe and the United States. Lack of consistent U.S. investment and engagement in these areas is at its core a race-based decision that is an impediment to creating cyber norms and other global mechanisms to protect ourselves and our allies.

Understanding the cultural nuances of technology use and access is integral to building policies and technical solutions that secure systems and serve people. As countries around the world explore online and mobile voting, efficacy and adoption will differ across cultures, communities, and socioeconomic status. The issue of voter identity authentication [PDF] will be especially challenging. Understanding the differences within our communities and lived experiences domestically and abroad will help build resilience into mobile voting and any other policy and technical cybersecurity solution we seek to implement.

Racism breeds distrust in systems and institutions. This undermines initiatives that require broad civic engagement, such as public health awareness campaigns, voter turnout, and counterterror efforts such as “see something, say something.” Technology can often exacerbate this problem, even unintentionally, and further engrain systemic racism into our institutions and organizations. For example, racial bias in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CPB) facial recognition technology has further diminished trust in the agency and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), its parent organization, which has an expanding cybersecurity mission.

Cybersecurity professionals also need to understand how communities of color are disproportionately affected by cyberattacks that target critical infrastructure. This is because emergency response capabilities [PDF], resilience to climate change, and public health security are comparatively lower in minority and low-income communities. This should inform strategic responses, mitigation, and continuity of operations efforts. Moreover, while communities of color could be the worst impacted, the interdependence of our systems means the vulnerability of their communities will affect everyone.

The lack of diversity in the cybersecurity industry at all levels exacerbates these challenges by making the United States less equipped to identify and address threats, innovate, and meaningfully cooperate with partners…

To read the full article, please redirect to The Center for Foreign Relations link here: https://www.cfr.org/blog/systemic-racism-cybersecurity-threat

About the Author

Camille Stewart is the former senior policy adviser for cyber, infrastructure and resilience policy at the Department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, a cofounder of Diversity in National Security Network, New America political reform fellow, Council on Foreign Relations term member, and Truman national security fellow.