Adaptive governance for the Internet of Things: Coping with emerging security risks

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a disruptive innovation known for its socio-economic potential, but also for generating unprecedented vulnerabilities and threats. As a dynamic sociotechnical system, the IoT comprises well-known cybersecurity risks and endemic uncertainties that arise as IoT adoption increases and the system evolves. We highlight the impact of these challenges by analyzing how insecure IoT devices pose threats to both consumer protection and the Internet's infrastructure. While recent regulatory responses are starting to target IoT security risks, crucial deficiencies – especially related to the feedback necessary to keep pace with emerging risks and uncertainties – must be addressed. We propose a model of adaptive regulatory governance that integrates the benefits of centralized risk regulatory frameworks with the operational knowledge and mitigation mechanisms developed by epistemic communities that manage day-to-day Internet security. Rather than focusing on the choice of regulatory instruments, this model builds on the “planned adaptive regulation” literature to highlight the need to systematically plan for a knowledge-sharing interface in regulatory governance design for disruptive technologies, facilitating the feedback necessary to address evolving IoT security risks.     

Terrorism alerts and target transference: evidence and implications from the 2010 Europe-wide terrorism alert

This article examines how terrorist alerts and terrorist threats interacted during a period of heightened alert in Europe in late 2010. Taking from game theory the concepts of target transference (by terrorists) and defence races (among states) and using their underlying rationalist logic as a causal mechanism, the article attempts to construct an analytical narrative of the till now unwritten history of this event. In the process, the event serves to test whether the observable implications of theory corresponded to reality in this case. The study finds that during the Euro-alert transference in time was more common than transference of place and that there was more resistance to defence races than theory predicts. The alert itself was only a qualified success; the extent to which it was effective was determined by its combination with other offensive actions. The findings call for more attention to be given to terrorist preferences, inter-temporal transference and its relationship to bandwagoning, and state resistance to defence races with consideration of the role of information.     

Race, Income, and College in 25 Years: Evaluating Justice O'Connor's Conjecture

In Grutter v. Bollinger, Justice O’Connor conjecturedthat in 25 years affirmative action in college admissions willbe unnecessary. We project the test score distribution of blackand white college applicants 25 years from now, focusing onthe role of black–white family income gaps. Economic progressalone is unlikely to narrow the achievement gap enough in 25years to produce today’s racial diversity levels withrace-blind admissions. A return to the rapid black–whitetest score convergence of the 1980s could plausibly cause blackrepresentation to approach current levels at moderately selectiveschools, but not at the most selective schools.