Energy Security in the Age of Interconnection: Cyber-threat Framing in British Political Discourse

Edward McDonald

Master's thesis

Abstract:

While rapid digitisation of electricity grids, critical infrastructure and industrial control systems increases resource allocation efficiency, the increasing interconnection of critical infrastructure together with the gradual suffusion of technological advances such as the Internet of Things and machine learning all multiply vulnerability to hugely damaging cyber-attacks. The number of attacks on critical infrastructure has increased sharply in the last fifteen years, with recent examples of successful attacks on Ukrainian electricity grids resulting in blackouts of several hours for several hundred thousand people. Having former-ly been considered opportunist acts, cyber-attacks are rapidly becoming recognised for their potential to serve a wide range of geo-political, economic and strategic aims for state and non-state actors alike. This research will employ framing analysis to explore how cyber-threats were framed in British political discourse from the publication of the second National Cyber Security Strategy in 2016 until the publication of the first report on the Cyber Security of the UK’s National Critical Infrastructure in 2018. The aim of this research is to demonstrate which actors endeavoured to frame cyber-threats in what ways, to dis-cover how prominent a role critical infrastructure played in the debate and aid preparedness for digitised infrastructure by contributing to a better understanding of the cyber-threat landscape.

Abstract:

While rapid digitisation of electricity grids, critical infrastructure and industrial control systems increases resource allocation efficiency, the increasing interconnection of critical infrastructure together with the gradual suffusion of technological advances such as the Internet of Things and machine learning all multiply vulnerability to hugely damaging cyber-attacks. The number of attacks on critical infrastructure has increased sharply in the last fifteen years, with recent examples of successful attacks on Ukrainian electricity grids resulting in blackouts of several hours for several hundred thousand people. Having former-ly been considered opportunist acts, cyber-attacks are rapidly becoming recognised for their potential to serve a wide range of geo-political, economic and strategic aims for state and non-state actors alike. This research will employ framing analysis to explore how cyber-threats were framed in British political discourse from the publication of the second National Cyber Security Strategy in 2016 until the publication of the first report on the Cyber Security of the UK’s National Critical Infrastructure in 2018. The aim of this research is to demonstrate which actors endeavoured to frame cyber-threats in what ways, to dis-cover how prominent a role critical infrastructure played in the debate and aid preparedness for digitised infrastructure by contributing to a better understanding of the cyber-threat landscape.

Keywords

Cyber-security, energy, supply, security, critical infrastructure, securitisation, risk, framing, discourse

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 27. 5. 2019

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 20. 6. 2019
• Supervisor: Mgr. Lukáš Lehotský, Ph.D.
• Reader: Mgr. Martin Jirušek, Ph.D.

Masaryk University

Faculty of Social Studies

Master programme / field:
International Territorial Studies / Energy Security Studies (Eng.)