Cyber Security: Economic Strategies and Public Policy Alternatives - Hardcover

Michael P. Gallaher; Albert N. Link; Brent R. Rowe

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1847203558 ISBN 13: 9781847203557

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008

Synopsis

Cyberspace is the nervous system of today's advanced economies, linking critical infrastructures across public and private institutions. The authors of this book comprehensively explore the many issues surrounding this unique system, including private sector cyber security investment decisions and implementation strategies, public policy efforts to ensure overall security, and government's role in the process.

The authors draw primarily on case-based information and focused survey data to describe and critique the economic strategies and broad technical approaches that private sector organizations adopt to secure their information technology infrastructure. Based on an analysis of these strategies, they propose several public policy responses that go beyond those that have come from recent policy reports. These responses include the construction of a national database of reliable and cost-effective information suitable for benchmarking, and public research and development support for innovations and infrastructures. The authors discuss the goal of such efforts: to shift private investments toward more socially-optimal proactive levels and to develop standards and protocols to ensure a more effective use of cyber security technologies.

The first systematic analysis of the economics of cyber security, this insightful book will be of great interest to private and public sector managers and strategists involved in cyber security, as well as academics and researchers in the fields of economics, management, information systems, systems engineering, political science, and public policy.

About this title

About the Author:

Michael P. Gallaher, Director, Technology, Energy and the Environment Group, RTI International, US, Albert N. Link, Professor of Economics, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, US and Brent R. Rowe, Research Economist, Technology, Energy and the Environment Group, RTI International, US

Review:

`Overall, this book fills a gap in the literature by providing a systematic and thorough analysis of the impacts of cyber threats on the corporate world. Its policy recommendations are sound and well supported by the research. . . The book also managed to weave together computer science, public policy, and economics in such a way that the arguments from each discipline are enhanced by the others. This book would be an excellent text for courses focused on computer technology, business security, cyber security, or those that examine the economic costs associated with high technology. . . Outside of academia, the book would provide valuable insights about the threats, tools to counter them, government regulations, and varying approaches to cyber security to corporate leaders and information technology decision-makers. Finally, members of government who are working in relevant fields would benefit greatly from the information provided and the policy recommendations made by the authors.' -- Alethia H. Cook, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

About this edition

• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1847203558
• ISBN 13: 9781847203557
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288