Issue Policy area 2: security gains from connection are inseparable from new exposure

Summary

This issue gathers the report's cross-cutting implications for security. Advanced communication technologies connect parts of global society in ways that foster innovation and understanding. Yet the same connections increase states' exposure to cyberattacks, espionage and system failures. Building global capacity to tackle existential risks may prove impossible if widespread misinformation, disinformation or ideological divides block agreement on basic facts. Essential services could also be endangered by foreign or unpredictable owners of critical internet infrastructure. The common thread is that the security benefits of connection cannot be separated from new vulnerabilities.