The degree of seriousness that we attribute to cyber threats is a matter of perspective, experience, interaction and awareness. Seeing them as a criminal action, a terrorist act or a hybrid of both constitutes an important subject of debate. Solving this dilemma helps to define our perception of those responsible for cyber attacks and to decide the punishment that their actions deserve. It is an issue that concerns the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judiciary. Cooperation in cybersecurity in order to minimize the impact of an attack. The purpose of the cooperation model is to offer institutional mechanisms to prevent or, at least, minimize the damage that comes with the threat of a cyber attack and a real attack.
In this sense, some potential targets of cyberattacks have the strong interest and ability to minimize the threat. However, retrospective analysis of how they fail to join forces presents a disconcerting picture; a scenario that, in a nutshell, reflects an unwillingness, stemming from multiple reasons, to recognize the benefits of a unified response to cyberattacks.
Given the persistent, determined and tireless efforts of those responsible for cyberterrorism or cyberattacks, not adopting a cooperative model as a matter of course is as remarkable as it is worrying.
Contextualizing a problem is important in determining what resources are dedicated to countering, mitigating, and minimizing threats. Similarly, in order to specify the applicable operational measures against the perpetrator(s) responsible for a particular attack, it is important to decide to resolve the terrorism-criminal-hybrid dilemma. In any case, as important as this debate is, it will not be the one that occupies this chapter, whose main topic is, as the title indicates, cooperation in cybersecurity in order to minimize the impact of attacks. As we will see, cooperation raises reluctance in several areas; reservations that, in some cases, are legitimate and that must be addressed and receive a convincing response.
The impact of cybercriminals is increased by the inability of their potential targets to recognize the advantages of adopting a cooperative model.