Topic: Future of Cyber Warfare
Country: Barbados
Delegate Name: Erich Hairston
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Barbados position papers GLIMUN 2012 committees
1) In less than a decade, there has been a rise in a new kind of warfare, “Cyber Warfare.” It has allowed countries to attack one another through a computer, not by killing but by hacking and stealing without knowing who attacked. An example of a cyber-attack is the Stuxnet worm, which disabled Iranian nuclear missiles and caused them to malfunction. It is thought to be designed by the United States and Israel but there is no way of knowing. As a developing country, Barbados has been able to use the internet to help its people and government, so this issue is very important to our country. Although the internet and computers can be a very helpful tool, they cannot be used to harm other nations; Reforms should be passed to protect countries against such attacks but should not interfere with the nation’s sovereignty.
2) The country of Barbados has an interest in the issue because it is a developing country and has used the internet to help it succeed. Originally the internet was used to share information and but now it is being used to steal information and disrupt nations defenses. Barbados is very strong on maintaining national sovereignty, so the laws and reforms against cyber warfare should only be for countries attacking other countries and not affect how a nation manages itself. Cyber warfare has only come into being in the last ten years; controlling it will be not only good for protecting nations but also protecting the world. These reforms need to be passed for the protection and safety of not just Barbados but all other developing and developed countries.
3) Barbados would propose to resolve this issue by helping pass reforms and laws against cyber warfare. These will help protect against incidents like the Stuxnet worm and other threats by nations. However, we do not want to infringe on a countries national sovereignty or make a nation feel force in to these reforms. Barbados does not support any type of reform that interferes with national sovereignty. We would expect to find support from the United Kingdom, the United States, and any other developing nations with a situation similar to Barbados.
