Having to rely on maritime power, Contemporary strategic challenges, such as global network resilience, food and water security, and the growth of global maritime trade, have highlighted the dependence of island nations, on sea power to maintain open lines of communication, connectivity, and thus economic prosperity and good governance.
Although interest in cyber security and maritime security has grown in recent years, far too little effort has been directed to the intersection of the two security issues. Nonetheless, there are distinct and significant intersections. The influence of (cyber) security concerns on the maritime business is becoming increasingly apparent.
However, as ongoing study by Chatham House, one of the world’s leading think tanks, has revealed, the maritime industry remains immature and ill-equipped to deal with this new insidious threat. It is necessary to develop a systematic method for not only understanding the threats and vulnerabilities, but also for providing a practical road map for preserving long-term maritime and naval security. Strategic studies has developed in recent years from a separate study of interstate war to the numerous dynamics of human conflict in a highly interconnected world.
The changing boundaries of strategic studies and defence policy reflect the merging of domestic and international challenges.
Globalisation has brought many of these disruptive challenges closer to home, including the possibility for global pandemics, mass migration, transnational organized crime, transnational terrorism, state actors’ “hybrid warfare,” and cyber attacks.
The need to increase knowledge, awareness, and understanding of strategic and security challenges as they pertain to maritime affairs and the use of seapower in the twenty-first century is evident and growing.
