Cyber in the Civilian Sector: Threats and Upheavals (CS-0182)

Fall 2026 · CS 0182 · Tufts University · 3 credits · Undergraduate

There is a myth that the Internet erases borders. But as Internet companies’ ability to place localized ads show, that’s false. What’s more accurate is that the Internet complicates a nation’s ability to control of the flow of information within its borders. (This is not a new challenge for sovereign nations; consider the telegraph.) This fluidity has created great economic opportunity and simplified trans-border access, the latter potentially threatening security and other basic state functions. With bits increasingly controlling the world around us, the Digital Revolution poses a highly disruptive threat. In this course, we’ll explore cyber clashes in the civilian sec-tor: from jurisdictional issues and the challenges posed by new technologies to criminal activities and impacts on civil infrastructures. While several of the topics are also covered in International Cyber Conflict: An Introduction to Power and Conflict in Cyberspace, DHP P249, the intersection between the two courses will be relatively minimal. Cyber in the Civilian Sector will have a greater focus on technology and, naturally enough, on the civilian, as opposed to national security, side of the house.

Course codes: CS-0182, CS 0182, CS0182, CS-182, CS 182, CS182

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