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An explicit form for extremal functions in the embedding constant problem for Sobolev spaces

I. A. Sheipak and T. A. Garmanova
Trans. Moscow Math. Soc. 80 (2020), 189-210.
Abstract, references and article information




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Ad space on my funny memes website




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Two new biosafety self-paced learning modules on public access to biosafety information and public participation in decision-making regarding LMOs are available in the new e-Learning Platform




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CBD News: Message de Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Secrétaire exécutif de la CDB, à l'occasion du lancement du Camp de base de 1000 Jours pour la planète, Espace pour la vie, 20 Juin 2012




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CBD News: Today some four billion people live in urban areas. In these human-built spaces, people tend to think of streets and buildings.




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Stability of the Stokes projection on weighted spaces and applications

Ricardo G. Durán, Enrique Otárola and Abner J. Salgado
Math. Comp. 89 (2020), 1581-1603.
Abstract, references and article information




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Linear and Multilinear Algebra and Function Spaces

A. Bourhim, J. Mashreghi, L. Oubbi and Z. Abdelali, editors. American Mathematical Society | Centre de Recherches Mathematiques, 2020, CONM, volume 750, approx. 224 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4704-4693-2 (print), 978-1-4704-5607-8 (online).

This volume contains the proceedings of the International Conference on Algebra and Related Topics, held from July 2–5, 2018, at Mohammed V...




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Sharp Adams and Hardy-Adams inequalities of any fractional order on hyperbolic spaces of all dimensions

Jungang Li, Guozhen Lu and Qiaohua Yang
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3483-3513.
Abstract, references and article information




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Equidistribution on homogeneous spaces and the distribution of approximates in Diophantine approximation

Mahbub Alam and Anish Ghosh
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3357-3374.
Abstract, references and article information





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On the dimension of subspaces of continuous functions attaining their maximum finitely many times

L. Bernal-González, H. J. Cabana-Méndez, G. A. Muñoz-Fernández and J. B. Seoane-Sepúlveda
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3063-3083.
Abstract, references and article information





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Solutions in Lebesgue spaces to nonlinear elliptic equations with subnatural growth terms

A. Seesanea and I. E. Verbitsky
St. Petersburg Math. J. 31 (2020), 557-572.
Abstract, references and article information





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Survey on gradient estimates for nonlinear elliptic equations in various function spaces

S.-S. Byun, D. K. Palagachev and L. G. Softova
St. Petersburg Math. J. 31 (2020), 401-419.
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Refined scales of decaying rates of operator semigroups on Hilbert spaces: Typical behavior

Moacir Aloisio, Silas L. Carvalho and César R. de Oliveira
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 148 (2020), 2509-2523.
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Metric Spaces, Convexity and Nonpositive Curvature: Second Edition

Athanase Papadopoulos, Universite de Strasbourg - A publication of the European Mathematical Society, 2013, 320 pp., Softcover, ISBN-13: 978-3-03719-132-3, List: US$58, All AMS Members: US$46.40, EMSILMTP/6.R

This book is about metric spaces of nonpositive curvature in the sense of Busemann, that is, metric spaces whose distance function satisfies a...




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Global and Local Regularity of Fourier Integral Operators on Weighted and Unweighted Spaces

David Dos Santos Ferreira, Universite Paris 13, and Wolfgang Staubach, Uppsala University - AMS, 2013, 65 pp., Softcover, ISBN-13: 978-0-8218-9119-3, List: US$63, All AMS Members: US$50.40, MEMO/229/1074

The authors investigate the global continuity on (L^p) spaces with (pin [1,infty]) of Fourier integral operators with smooth and rough amplitudes...




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A smart space for innovation

Entrepreneur Ricky Chan’s information technology company has been hard at work developing a virtual reality application that enables designers and their clients to walk through different versions of their home or office without having to physically move a single piece of furniture.

 

From the colour of the walls to the style of fixtures and fittings, Mr Chan’s app caters to all personal tastes and design ideas.

 

“We have customers who are interior designers or furniture retailers. Our virtual reality application brings their sketches to life. Designers in the past needed weeks to produce sketches. Now they can make designs instantly,” he explained.

 

Up to 40% of the application was developed at Smart-Space 8 in Tsuen Wan, Cyberport’s first co-working space outside its main Pok Fu Lam campus.

 

“Cyberport provides funding that helps to lower our expenses and we can hold seminars here with a rental fee that is much lower than the market price,” Mr Chan added.
 

The 20,000 sq ft space launched last year was specifically designed with young entrepreneurs in mind and provides workshops and seminars for startups. For companies that wish to join the Smart-Space 8 community, one of its founders must be aged between 18 and 35 and the company itself should not have been in operation for longer than seven years.

 

Smart-Space 8 users are entitled to comprehensive entrepreneurial support and value-added services to accelerate their businesses such as the Cyberport Creative Micro Fund and Cyberport Incubation Programme.

 

Mr Chan, who lives in the New Territories, said the added bonus of setting up shop in Smart-Space 8 is the commute, as Cyberport in Pok Fu Lam is farther away for him and his clients.

 

Cyberport may be expanding beyond Pok Fu Lam, but some entrepreneurs like agriculture technology company CEO and founder Gordon Tam have opted to stay at the home campus because of the incentives available.

 

“The business network here is unique. There are so many startups and we encourage and learn from each other.”

 

Mr Tam’s company sells vegetables from an indoor farm to local supermarkets and is now exploring the overseas market. He credits the vibrant community and ecosystem at Cyberport for building up his business.

 

“Traditional agriculture comes with a host of problems and the efficiency of Hong Kong’s agriculture industry is relatively low. This is why we are looking into indoor agriculture. We want to grow plants in industrial buildings.”

 

When Mr Tam joined the Cyberport Incubation Programme, his firm was offered two years of rent reduction. But more importantly, he said, the space is a one-of-a-kind ecosystem where his team can brainstorm ideas and continue to innovate.

 

Other startup owners share the same sentiment. Information technology company CEO and founder Stark Chan noted that with Cyberport as a public body, it offers a lot of support and rents are more stable.

 

“We have been here since we first started up. My colleagues are familiar with this environment and the atmosphere is good for innovation,” Mr Chan said.




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Study reveals how spaceflight affects risk of blood clots in female astronauts

(King's College London) A study of female astronauts has assessed the risk of blood clots associated with spaceflight.The study, published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, in collaboration with King's College London, the Centre for Space Medicine Baylor College of Medicine, NASA Johnson Space Centre and the International Space University, examines the potential risk factors for developing a blood clot (venous thromboembolism) in space.




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NASA CubeSat mission to gather vital space weather data

(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) NASA has selected a new pathfinding CubeSat mission to gather data not collected since the agency flew the Dynamics Explorer in the early 1980s.




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Data from 2 space lasers comprehensively estimate polar ice loss and sea level rise

(American Association for the Advancement of Science) Ice sheet losses from Greenland and Antarctica have outpaced snow accumulation and contributed approximately 14 millimeters to sea level rise over 16 years (2003 to 2019), a new analysis of data from NASA's laser-shooting satellites has revealed.




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Power Politics Could Impede Progress on Responsible Regulation of Cyberspace

3 December 2019

Harriet Moynihan

Senior Research Fellow, International Law Programme
A new Chatham House paper examines the prospects of countries reaching agreement on issues of sovereignty and non-intervention in cyberspace in the face of persistent, low-level, state-to-state cyber attacks.

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A computer hacked by a virus known as Petya. The Petya ransomware cyberattack hit computers of Russian and Ukrainian companies on 27 June 2017. Photo: Getty Images.

In discussions to date about how international law applies in cyberspace, commentators have tended to focus their attention on how the rules on the use of force, or the law of armed conflict, apply to cyber activities conducted by states that give rise to physical damage, injury or death.

But in practice, the vast majority of state cyberattacks fall below this threshold. Far more common are persistent, low-level attacks that may leave no physical trace but that are capable of doing significant damage to a state’s ability to control its systems, often at serious economic cost.

Such cyber incursions might include network disruptions in the operation of another government’s websites; tampering with electoral infrastructure to change or undermine the result; or using cyber means to destabilize another state’s financial sector.

For these kinds of cyber operation, the principle of sovereignty, and the principle of non-intervention in another state’s internal affairs, are the starting point.

A UN Group of Government Experts (GGE) agreed in 2013 and 2015 that the principles in the UN Charter, including sovereignty and the prohibition on intervention in another state’s affairs, apply to states’ activities in cyberspace. The 2015 GGE also recommended eleven (non-binding) norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.

However, states have not yet reached agreement on how to apply these principles. Until recently, there has also been very little knowledge of what states actually do in cyberspace, as they usually conduct cyber operations covertly and have been reluctant to put their views on record.

A new Chatham House research paper analyses the application of the principles of sovereignty and non-intervention to state cyberattacks that fall below the principle of use of force. As well as analysing the application of the law in this area, the paper also makes recommendations to governments on how they might best make progress in reaching agreement in this area.

Existing rules or new rules?

As the research paper makes clear, there is currently some debate, principally between countries in the West, about the extent to which sovereignty is a legally binding rule in the context of cyberspace and, if so, how it and the principle of non-intervention might apply in practice.

In the last few years, certain states have put on record how they consider international law to apply to states’ activities in cyberspace, namely the UK, Australia, France and the Netherlands. While there may be some differences in their approaches, which are discussed in the paper, there also remains important common ground: namely, that existing international law already provides a solid framework for regulating states’ cyber activities, as it regulates every other domain of state-to-state activity.

There is also an emerging trend for states to work together when attributing cyberattacks to hostile states, enabling them to call out malign cyber activity when it violates international law. (See, for example, the joint statements made in relation to the NotPetya cyber attack and malicious cyber activity attributed to the Russian government).

However, other countries have questioned whether existing international law as it stands is capable of regulating states’ cyber interactions and have called for ‘new legal instruments’ in this area.

This includes a proposal by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (led by Russia and China) for an International Code of Conduct on Information Security, a draft of which was submitted to the UN in 2011 and 2015, without success. The UN has also formed a new Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) under a resolution proposed by Russia to consider how international law applies to states’ activities in cyberspace.

The resolution establishing the OEWG, which began work earlier this year, includes the possibility of the group ‘introducing changes to the rules, norms and principles of responsible behaviour of States’ agreed in the 2013 and 2015 GGE reports. In the OEWG discussions at the UN in September, several countries claimed that a new legal instrument was needed to fill the ‘legal vacuum’ (Cuba) or ‘the gap of ungoverned areas’ (Indonesia).

It would be concerning if the hard-won consensus on the application of international law to cyberspace that has been reached at past GGEs started to unravel. In contrast to 2013 and 2015, the 2017 meeting failed to reach an agreement.

On 9 December, a renewed GGE will meet in New York, but the existence of the OEWG exploring the same issues in a separate process reflects the fact that cyber norms have become an area of geopolitical rivalry.

Aside from the application of international law, states are also adopting divergent approaches to the domestic regulation of cyberspace within their own territory. The emerging trend towards a ‘splinternet’ – i.e. between states that believe the internet should be global and open on the hand, and those that favour a ‘sovereignty and control’ model on the other  – is also likely to make discussions at the GGE more challenging.

Distinct from the international law concept of sovereignty is the notion of ‘cybersovereignty’, a term coined by China to describe the wide-ranging powers it assumes under domestic law to regulate its citizens’ access to the internet and personal data within its territory. This approach is catching on (as reflected in Russia’s recently enacted ‘Sovereign Internet Law’), with other authoritarian states likely to follow suit.

The importance of non-state actors

In parallel with regional and UN discussions on how international law applies, a number of initiatives by non-state actors have also sought to establish voluntary principles about responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.

The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, a multi-stakeholder body that has proposed principles, norms and recommendations to guide responsible behaviour by all parties in cyberspace, recently published its final report. The Cybersecurity Tech Accord  aims to promote collaboration between tech companies on stability and resilience in cyberspace. President Macron’s ‘Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace’ has to date received the backing of 67 states, 139 international and civil society organizations, and 358 private-sector organizations.

It remains to be seen in the long term whether the parallel processes at the UN will work constructively together or be competitive. But notwithstanding the challenging geopolitical backdrop, the UN GGE meeting next week at the least offers states the opportunity to consolidate and build on the results of past meetings; to increase knowledge and discussion about how international law might apply; and to encourage more states to put their own views of these issues on the record.




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POSTPONED: Supporting Civic Space: The Role and Impact of the Private Sector

Invitation Only Research Event

16 March 2020 - 11:00am to 5:00pm

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

A healthy civic space is vital for an enabling business environment. In recognition of this, a growing number of private sector actors are challenging, publicly or otherwise, the deteriorating environment for civic freedoms.

However, this corporate activism is often limited and largely ad hoc. It remains confined to a small cluster of multinationals leaving potential routes for effective coordination and collaboration with other actors underexplored.

This roundtable will bring together a diverse and international group of business actors, civil society actors and foreign policy experts to exchange perspectives and experiences on how the private sector can be involved in issues around civic space. The meeting will provide an opportunity to explore the drivers of – and barriers to – corporate activism, develop a better understanding of existing initiatives, identify good practice and discuss practical strategies for the business community.

This meeting will be the first of a series of roundtables at Chatham House in support of initiatives to build broad alliances for the protection of civic space. 

Attendance at this event is by invitation only. 

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. 

Jacqueline Rowe

Programme Assistant, International Law Programme
020 7389 3287




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Create a Global Code of Conduct for Outer Space

12 June 2019

Dr Patricia Lewis

Research Director, Conflict, Science & Transformation; Director, International Security Programme
The rules governing human activity in space have been in place for only a few decades, and yet they are already out of date. They need to be built on and extended to reflect the dramatic and rapid changes in the use of space.

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Nighttime view of the strait of Gibraltar. Photo by NASA.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) is the mainframe for space law. It recognizes the importance of the use and scientific exploration of outer space for the benefit and in the interests of all countries. It also prohibits national sovereignty in space, including of the Moon and other celestial bodies.

The OST prohibits all weapons of mass destruction in space – in orbit or on other planets and moons – and does not allow the establishment of military infrastructure, manoeuvres or the testing of any type of weapon on planets or moons. As the treaty makes clear, outer space is for peaceful purposes only. Except of course, it is not – nor has it ever been so.

The very first satellite, Sputnik, was a military satellite which kicked off the Cold War space race between the US and the USSR. The militaries of many countries followed suit, and space is now used for military communication, signals intelligence, imaging, targeting, arms control verification and so on.

However, in keeping with international aspirations, space is also being used for all kinds of peaceful purposes such as environmental monitoring, broadcast communications, delivering the internet, weather prediction, navigation, scientific exploration and – very importantly – monitoring the ‘space weather’ (including the activity from the Sun).

There are several other international agreements on space, such as on the rescue of astronauts, the registration of satellites and liability for damage caused by space objects. There is also the Moon Treaty, which governs activities on the Moon and other moons, asteroids and planets.[i]

More recently, states at the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) in Vienna have agreed on guidelines to deal with the worrying situation of space debris which is cluttering up orbits and posing a danger to satellites, the space station and astronauts.

The problem the international community now faces is that the use of space is changing dramatically and rapidly. There are more satellites than ever – well over 1,000 – and more owners of satellites – almost every country uses information generated from space. Increasingly, however, those owners are not countries, militaries or international organizations but the commercial sector. Very soon, the owners will even include individuals.

Small ‘mini-satellites’ or ‘cube-sats’ are poised to be deployed in space. These can act independently or in ‘swarms’, and are so small that they piggy-back on the launching of other satellites and so are very cheap to launch. This is changing the cost–benefit equation of satellite ownership and use. Developing countries are increasingly dependent on space for communications, the internet and information on, for example, weather systems, coastal activities and agriculture. 

Another major development is the advent of asteroid mining. Asteroids contain a wide range of metals and minerals – some asteroids are more promising than others, and some are closer to Earth than others. Several companies have been set up and registered around the world to begin the exploitation of asteroids for precious metals (such as platinum) and compounds (such as rare-earth minerals).

Legally, however, this will be a murky venture. The current international treaty regime prohibits the ownership of a celestial body by a country – space is for all. But does international law prohibit the ownership or exploitation of a celestial body by a private company? The law has yet to be tested, but there are space lawyers who think that companies are exempt. Luxembourg and Australia are two countries that have already begun the registration of interest for space-mining companies.

As humanity becomes more dependent on information that is generated in or transmitted through space, the vulnerability to the manipulation of space data is increasing. The demands on the use of communications frequencies (the issue of spectrum availability and rights), managed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),[ii] need to be urgently addressed.

There are now constant cyberattacks in space and on the digital information on which our systems rely. For example, position, navigation and timing information such as from GPS or Galileo is not only vital for getting us safely from A to B, but also for fast-moving financial transactions that require accurate timing signals.

Almost all of our electronic systems depend on those timing signals for synchronization and basic functioning. Cyber hacks, digital spoofing and ‘fake’ information are now a real possibility. There is no rules-based order in place that is fit to deal with these types of attacks.

Cyberweapons are only part of the problem. It is assumed that states, if they haven’t already done so, will be positioning ‘defensive’ space weaponry to protect their satellites. The protection may be intended to be against space debris – nets, grabber bars and harpoons, for example, are all being investigated.

All of these ideas, however, could be used as offensive weapons. Once one satellite operator decides to equip its assets with such devices, many others will follow. The weaponization of space is in the horizon.

There are no international rules or agreements to manage these developments. Attempts in Geneva to address the arms race in space have floundered alongside the inability of the Conference on Disarmament to negotiate any instrument since 1996.

Attempts to develop rules of the road and codes of conduct, or even to begin negotiations to prohibit weapons in space, have failed again and again. There are no agreed rules to govern cyber activity. The Tallinn Manuals[iii] that address how international law is applicable to cyberwarfare also address the laws of armed conflict in space, but data spoofing and cyber hacking in space exist in far murkier legal frameworks.

The current system of international space law – which does not even allow for a regular review and consideration of the OST – is struggling to keep up. Space is the inheritance of humankind, yet the current generation of elders – as they have done with so many other parts of our global environment – have let things go and failed to shepherd in the much-needed system of rules to protect space for future generations.

It is not too late, but it will require international cooperation among the major space players: Russia, the US, China, India and Europe – hardly a promising line-up of collaborators in the current political climate.

Filling the governance gaps

Norms of behaviour and rules of the road need to be established for space before it becomes a 21st-century ‘wild west’ of technology and activity. Issues such as cleaning up space debris, the principle of non-interference, and how close satellites can manoeuvre to each other (proximity rules) need to be agreed as a set of international norms for space behaviour.

A cross-regional group of like-minded countries (for example Algeria, Canada, Chile, France, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Sweden, the UAE and the UK) should link up with UN bodies, including the Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), COPUOS and ITU, and key private-sector companies to kick-start a new process for a global code of conduct to establish norms and regulate behaviour in space.

The UN could be the host entity for this new approach – or it could be established in the way the Ottawa process for landmines was established, by a group of like-minded states with collective responsibility for, and collective hosting and funding of, the negotiations.

A new approach should also cover cybersecurity in space. The UN processes on space and cyber should intersect more to find ways to create synergies in their endeavours. And the problems ahead as regards spectrum management – particularly given the large number of small satellites and constellations that are to be launched in the near future – need urgent attention in ITU.

What needs to happen

  • The international rules-based order for space – enshrined in particular in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty – has not kept pace with the rapid and dramatic changes in the use of space. New norms of behaviour and rules of the road are needed.
  • These norms and rules need to address a host of contemporary or prospective developments, including asteroid mining, increased numbers of satellite owners, the emergence of ‘mini-satellites’, cyberwarfare, and the potential deployment of ‘defensive’ space weaponry to protect satellites.
  • A cross-regional group of like-minded countries should link up with UN bodies – including UNOOSA, COPUOS and ITU – and key private-sector companies to kick-start a new process for developing a global code of conduct.
  • Problems related to radio spectrum management – given the large number of small satellites and constellations to be launched in the near future – need urgent attention in ITU.

Notes

[i] All of these treaties and other documents can be found at UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (2002), United Nations Treaties and Principles on Outer Space, http://www.unoosa.org/pdf/publications/STSPACE11E.pdf.

[ii] ITU (undated), ‘ITU Radiocommunication Sector’, https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/Pages/default.aspx.

[iii] The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), ‘Tallinn Manual 2.0’, https://ccdcoe.org/research/tallinn-manual/.

This essay was produced for the 2019 edition of Chatham House Expert Perspectives – our annual survey of risks and opportunities in global affairs – in which our researchers identify areas where the current sets of rules, institutions and mechanisms for peaceful international cooperation are falling short, and present ideas for reform and modernization.




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Cybersecurity of NATO’s Space-based Strategic Assets

1 July 2019

Almost all modern military engagements rely on space-based assets, but cyber vulnerabilities can undermine confidence in the performance of strategic systems. This paper will evaluate the threats, vulnerabilities and consequences of cyber risks to strategic systems.

Dr Beyza Unal

Senior Research Fellow, International Security Programme

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The radar domes of RAF Menwith Hill, reported to be the biggest spy base in the world, dominate the skyline on 30 October 2007 in Harrogate, UK. Photo: Getty Images

Summary

  • All satellites depend on cyber technology including software, hardware and other digital components. Any threat to a satellite’s control system or available bandwidth poses a direct challenge to national critical assets.
  • NATO’s missions and operations are conducted in the air, land, cyber and maritime domains. Space-based architecture is fundamental to the provision of data and services in each of these contexts. The critical dependency on space has resulted in new cyber risks that disproportionately affect mission assurance. Investing in mitigation measures and in the resilience of space systems for the military is key to achieving protection in all domains.
  • Almost all modern military engagements rely on space-based assets. During the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, 68 per cent of US munitions were guided utilizing space-based means (including laser-, infrared- and satellite-guided munitions); up sharply from 10 per cent in 1990–91, during the first Gulf war. In 2001, 60 per cent of the weapons used by the US in Afghanistan were precision-guided munitions, many of which had the capability to use information provided by space-based assets to correct their own positioning to hit a target.
  • NATO does not own satellites. It owns and operates a few terrestrial elements, such as satellite communications anchor stations and terminals. It requests access to products and services – such as space weather reports and satellite overflight reports provided via satellite reconnaissance advance notice systems – but does not have direct access to satellites: it is up to individual NATO member states to determine whether they allow access.
  • Cyber vulnerabilities undermine confidence in the performance of strategic systems. As a result, rising uncertainty in information and analysis continues to impact the credibility of deterrence and strategic stability. Loss of trust in technology also has implications for determining the source of a malicious attack (attribution), strategic calculus in crisis decision-making and may increase the risk of misperception.




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Cyber Governance in the Commonwealth: Towards Stability and Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace

Invitation Only Research Event

7 October 2019 - 10:30am to 5:30pm

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

This roundtable is part of a series under the project, 'Implementing the Commonwealth Cybersecurity Agenda', funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The roundtable aims to provide a multi-stakeholder, pan-Commonwealth platform to discuss how to implement the Commonwealth Cyber Declaration with a focus on its third pillar 'To promote stability in cyberspace through international cooperation'.

In particular, the roundtable focuses on points 3 and 4 of the third pillar which revolve around the commitment to promote frameworks for stability in cyberspace including the applicability of international law, agreed voluntary norms of responsible state behaviour and the development and implementation of confidence-building measures consistent with the 2015 report of the UNGGE. 

The workshop also focuses on the commitment to advance discussions on how existing international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and applicable international humanitarian law, applies in cyberspace.

The roundtable addresses the issue of global cyber governance from a Commonwealth perspective and will also include a discussion around the way forward, the needed capacity of the different Commonwealth countries and the cooperation between its members for better cyber governance.

Participants include UNGGE members from Commonwealth countries in addition to representatives to the UN Open-Ended Working Group from African countries as well as members from academia, civil society and industry.

Calum Inverarity

Research Analyst and Coordinator, International Security Department
+44 (0) 207 957 5751




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The Future of EU–US Cooperation in Space Traffic Management and Space Situational Awareness

29 August 2019

As more space activities develop, there is an increasing requirement for comprehensive space situational awareness (SSA). This paper provides an overview of the current landscape in SSA and space traffic management as well as possible scenarios for EU–US cooperation in this area. 

Alexandra Stickings

Research Fellow for Space Policy and Security, RUSI

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Deployment of the NanoRacks-Remove Debris Satellite from the International Space Station. Photo: Getty Images.

Summary

  • Space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic management (STM) are essential for sustainable near-Earth orbit. International cooperation in SSA and STM is vital with the growing number of satellite operators and the increasingly complex space environment.
  • The various definitions of SSA and STM are ambiguous. Understanding the activities that fall under each term can better assist in finding areas for cooperation and collaboration.
  • SSA has historically been a military activity, leading to an incomplete public catalogue of its use and barriers to sharing information with other states and the commercial sector. The rise in private space actors has increased the number of commercial STM providers and, with plans in the US to move responsibility for STM to civilian control, there will likely be more opportunities for international collaboration, particularly through the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) programme.
  • Individual EU member states possess developed STM capabilities, but overall these are still some way behind those of allies such as the US. Further investment in STM infrastructure and programmes is required for the EU and individual European states to be an essential partner to the US and add value to the global effort.
  • There are worldwide challenges, both political and technical, to providing STM coverage, which may lead to a lack of collaboration and gaps in understanding of activities in orbit. Existing sensors have limitations in terms of the size of objects that can be detected and the precision with which their movements can be predicted. These capability gaps represent opportunities for the EU to contribute.
  • The EU can build on its tradition of support for openness and civil society by creating a system that fosters an environment of cooperation and collaboration involving industry, commercial STM providers and the wider international community.
  • Although collaboration in STM is vital, the EU should also aim to tackle issues within the wider definition of SSA including space weather, intelligence and the security of ground stations.
  • The EU is well placed to become a global leader in SSA and STM. However, it needs to take into consideration the current political and technical landscape when making decisions regarding investment in capabilities and the pursuit of international partnerships.




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Examining Measures to Mitigate Cyber Vulnerabilities of Space-based Strategic Assets

Invitation Only Research Event

30 October 2019 - 9:30am to 4:00pm

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

Event participants

Beyza Unal, Senior Research Fellow, International Security Department, Chatham House
Patricia Lewis, Research Director, International Security Department, Chatham House

Strategic systems that depend on space-based assets, such as command, control and communication, early warning systems, weapons systems and weapons platforms, are essential for conducting successful NATO operations and missions. Given the increasing dependency on such systems, the alliance and key member states would therefore benefit from an in-depth analysis of possible mitigation and resilience measures.

This workshop is part of the International Security Department’s (ISD) project on space security and the vulnerability of strategic assets to cyberattacks, which includes a recently published report. This project aims to create resilience in NATO and key NATO member states, building the capacity of key policymakers and stakeholders to respond with effective policies and procedures. This workshop will focus on measures to mitigate the cyber vulnerabilities of NATO’s space-dependent strategic assets. Moreover, participants will discuss the type of resilience measures and mechanisms required.

Attendance at this event is by invitation only. 

Calum Inverarity

Research Analyst and Coordinator, International Security Department
+44 (0) 207 957 5751




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Projection-space implementation of deep learning-guided low-dose brain PET imaging improves performance over implementation in image-space

Purpose: To assess the performance of full dose (FD) positron emission tomography (PET) image synthesis in both image and projection space from low-dose (LD) PET images/sinograms without sacrificing diagnostic quality using deep learning techniques. Methods: Clinical brain PET/CT studies of 140 patients were retrospectively employed for LD to FD PET conversion. 5% of the events were randomly selected from the FD list-mode PET data to simulate a realistic LD acquisition. A modified 3D U-Net model was implemented to predict FD sinograms in the projection-space (PSS) and FD images in image-space (PIS) from their corresponding LD sinograms/images, respectively. The quality of the predicted PET images was assessed by two nuclear medicine specialists using a five-point grading scheme. Quantitative analysis using established metrics including the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index metric (SSIM), region-wise standardized uptake value (SUV) bias, as well as first-, second- and high-order texture radiomic features in 83 brain regions for the test and evaluation dataset was also performed. Results: All PSS images were scored 4 or higher (good to excellent) by the nuclear medicine specialists. PSNR and SSIM values of 0.96 ± 0.03, 0.97 ± 0.02 and 31.70 ± 0.75, 37.30 ± 0.71 were obtained for PIS and PSS, respectively. The average SUV bias calculated over all brain regions was 0.24 ± 0.96% and 1.05 ± 1.44% for PSS and PIS, respectively. The Bland-Altman plots reported the lowest SUV bias (0.02) and variance (95% CI: -0.92, +0.84) for PSS compared with the reference FD images. The relative error of the homogeneity radiomic feature belonging to the Grey Level Co-occurrence Matrix category was -1.07 ± 1.77 and 0.28 ± 1.4 for PIS and PSS, respectively Conclusion: The qualitative assessment and quantitative analysis demonstrated that the FD PET prediction in projection space led to superior performance, resulting in higher image quality and lower SUV bias and variance compared to FD PET prediction in the image domain.




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Episode 82 - The Internet of Cars in Space (IoCiS) Falcon Heavy, Bitcoin bubble and Apple earnings

Back with a bang as Computerworld editor Scott Carey leads the squad into the cauldron of convo. Christina Mercer explains why her beau Elon Musk took a car into space, Sean Bradley on that bursting Bitcoin bubble, and David Price to tell us all how Apple can charge even more for its stuff and keep on making record profit.

 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.




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Power and diplomacy in the post-liberal cyberspace

7 May 2020 , Volume 96, Number 3

André Barrinha and Thomas Renard

It is becoming widely accepted that we have transitioned, or are now transitioning, from an international liberal order to a different reality. Whether that reality is different solely in terms of power dynamics, or also in terms of values and institutions, is up for discussion. The growing body of literature on ‘post-liberalism’ is used as an entry-point for this article, which aims to explore how the post-liberal transition applies to cyberspace. We explore how power dynamics are evolving in cyberspace, as well as how established norms, values and institutions are contested. The article then looks at the emergence of cyber diplomacy as a consequence and response to the post-liberal transition. As it will be argued, if cyberspace was a creation of the liberal order, cyber-diplomacy is a post-liberal world practice. What role it plays in shaping a new order or building bridges between different political visions, and what it means for the future of cyberspace, will constitute key points of discussion.




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Marking failure, making space: feminist intervention in Security Council policy

6 November 2019 , Volume 95, Number 6

Sam Cook

Feminist interventions in international politics are, more often than not, understood (and visible) as interventions in relation to policy documents. These policies—in this case the United Nations Security Council's resolutions on Women, Peace and Security—often feature as the end point of feminist advocacy efforts or as the starting point for feminist analysis and critique. In this article the author responds to the provocations throughout Marysia Zalewski's work to think (and tell) the spaces of international politics differently, in this case by working with the concept of feminist failure as it is produced in feminist policy critique. Inspired by Zalewski's Feminist International Relations: exquisite corpse, the article explores the material and imaginary spaces in which both policies and critique are produced. It picks up and reflects upon a narrative refrain recognizable in feminist critiques on Women, Peace and Security policy—that we must not make war safe for women—as a way to reflect on the inevitability of failure and the ostensible boundaries between theory and practice. The author takes permission from Zalewski's creative interventions and her recognition of the value of the ‘detritus of the everyday’—here a walk from New York's Grand Central Station to the UN Headquarters, musings on the flash of a particular shade of blue, and the contents of a footnoted acknowledgement, begin to trace an international political space that is produced through embodied and quotidian practice.




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Power Politics Could Impede Progress on Responsible Regulation of Cyberspace

3 December 2019

Harriet Moynihan

Senior Research Fellow, International Law Programme
A new Chatham House paper examines the prospects of countries reaching agreement on issues of sovereignty and non-intervention in cyberspace in the face of persistent, low-level, state-to-state cyber attacks.

2019-11-29-Intl-Law-Cyberattacks.jpg

A computer hacked by a virus known as Petya. The Petya ransomware cyberattack hit computers of Russian and Ukrainian companies on 27 June 2017. Photo: Getty Images.

In discussions to date about how international law applies in cyberspace, commentators have tended to focus their attention on how the rules on the use of force, or the law of armed conflict, apply to cyber activities conducted by states that give rise to physical damage, injury or death.

But in practice, the vast majority of state cyberattacks fall below this threshold. Far more common are persistent, low-level attacks that may leave no physical trace but that are capable of doing significant damage to a state’s ability to control its systems, often at serious economic cost.

Such cyber incursions might include network disruptions in the operation of another government’s websites; tampering with electoral infrastructure to change or undermine the result; or using cyber means to destabilize another state’s financial sector.

For these kinds of cyber operation, the principle of sovereignty, and the principle of non-intervention in another state’s internal affairs, are the starting point.

A UN Group of Government Experts (GGE) agreed in 2013 and 2015 that the principles in the UN Charter, including sovereignty and the prohibition on intervention in another state’s affairs, apply to states’ activities in cyberspace. The 2015 GGE also recommended eleven (non-binding) norms of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.

However, states have not yet reached agreement on how to apply these principles. Until recently, there has also been very little knowledge of what states actually do in cyberspace, as they usually conduct cyber operations covertly and have been reluctant to put their views on record.

A new Chatham House research paper analyses the application of the principles of sovereignty and non-intervention to state cyberattacks that fall below the principle of use of force. As well as analysing the application of the law in this area, the paper also makes recommendations to governments on how they might best make progress in reaching agreement in this area.

Existing rules or new rules?

As the research paper makes clear, there is currently some debate, principally between countries in the West, about the extent to which sovereignty is a legally binding rule in the context of cyberspace and, if so, how it and the principle of non-intervention might apply in practice.

In the last few years, certain states have put on record how they consider international law to apply to states’ activities in cyberspace, namely the UK, Australia, France and the Netherlands. While there may be some differences in their approaches, which are discussed in the paper, there also remains important common ground: namely, that existing international law already provides a solid framework for regulating states’ cyber activities, as it regulates every other domain of state-to-state activity.

There is also an emerging trend for states to work together when attributing cyberattacks to hostile states, enabling them to call out malign cyber activity when it violates international law. (See, for example, the joint statements made in relation to the NotPetya cyber attack and malicious cyber activity attributed to the Russian government).

However, other countries have questioned whether existing international law as it stands is capable of regulating states’ cyber interactions and have called for ‘new legal instruments’ in this area.

This includes a proposal by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (led by Russia and China) for an International Code of Conduct on Information Security, a draft of which was submitted to the UN in 2011 and 2015, without success. The UN has also formed a new Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) under a resolution proposed by Russia to consider how international law applies to states’ activities in cyberspace.

The resolution establishing the OEWG, which began work earlier this year, includes the possibility of the group ‘introducing changes to the rules, norms and principles of responsible behaviour of States’ agreed in the 2013 and 2015 GGE reports. In the OEWG discussions at the UN in September, several countries claimed that a new legal instrument was needed to fill the ‘legal vacuum’ (Cuba) or ‘the gap of ungoverned areas’ (Indonesia).

It would be concerning if the hard-won consensus on the application of international law to cyberspace that has been reached at past GGEs started to unravel. In contrast to 2013 and 2015, the 2017 meeting failed to reach an agreement.

On 9 December, a renewed GGE will meet in New York, but the existence of the OEWG exploring the same issues in a separate process reflects the fact that cyber norms have become an area of geopolitical rivalry.

Aside from the application of international law, states are also adopting divergent approaches to the domestic regulation of cyberspace within their own territory. The emerging trend towards a ‘splinternet’ – i.e. between states that believe the internet should be global and open on the hand, and those that favour a ‘sovereignty and control’ model on the other  – is also likely to make discussions at the GGE more challenging.

Distinct from the international law concept of sovereignty is the notion of ‘cybersovereignty’, a term coined by China to describe the wide-ranging powers it assumes under domestic law to regulate its citizens’ access to the internet and personal data within its territory. This approach is catching on (as reflected in Russia’s recently enacted ‘Sovereign Internet Law’), with other authoritarian states likely to follow suit.

The importance of non-state actors

In parallel with regional and UN discussions on how international law applies, a number of initiatives by non-state actors have also sought to establish voluntary principles about responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.

The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, a multi-stakeholder body that has proposed principles, norms and recommendations to guide responsible behaviour by all parties in cyberspace, recently published its final report. The Cybersecurity Tech Accord  aims to promote collaboration between tech companies on stability and resilience in cyberspace. President Macron’s ‘Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace’ has to date received the backing of 67 states, 139 international and civil society organizations, and 358 private-sector organizations.

It remains to be seen in the long term whether the parallel processes at the UN will work constructively together or be competitive. But notwithstanding the challenging geopolitical backdrop, the UN GGE meeting next week at the least offers states the opportunity to consolidate and build on the results of past meetings; to increase knowledge and discussion about how international law might apply; and to encourage more states to put their own views of these issues on the record.




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POSTPONED: Supporting Civic Space: The Role and Impact of the Private Sector

Invitation Only Research Event

16 March 2020 - 11:00am to 5:00pm

Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE

A healthy civic space is vital for an enabling business environment. In recognition of this, a growing number of private sector actors are challenging, publicly or otherwise, the deteriorating environment for civic freedoms.

However, this corporate activism is often limited and largely ad hoc. It remains confined to a small cluster of multinationals leaving potential routes for effective coordination and collaboration with other actors underexplored.

This roundtable will bring together a diverse and international group of business actors, civil society actors and foreign policy experts to exchange perspectives and experiences on how the private sector can be involved in issues around civic space. The meeting will provide an opportunity to explore the drivers of – and barriers to – corporate activism, develop a better understanding of existing initiatives, identify good practice and discuss practical strategies for the business community.

This meeting will be the first of a series of roundtables at Chatham House in support of initiatives to build broad alliances for the protection of civic space. 

Attendance at this event is by invitation only. 

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. 

Jacqueline Rowe

Programme Assistant, International Law Programme
020 7389 3287




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Dicks in Space Suits

Dead beetles die in their skins, and Seychellois, Mauritanians, Maurtians, Martians, Fighting with sun-tans all, and Bad lip jobs, In Nairobi, Silent giraffes grope for love, God, Tends to antelopes, The world ends In a traffic jam or, Dicks in space-suits building railways​ through the heart of a city. ♦Photo♦ Friends of Nairobi National Park -short evocative […]




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Earth Observation, Risk Assessment and Global Change: Implications for the Insurance and Aerospace Sectors

Research Event

16 July 2008 - 2:00pm to 5:15pm

Chatham House, London

This event is organized by Chatham House and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Keynote speaker:

  • Lindene Patton, Climate Product Officer, Zurich Financial Services
Other speaker highlights:
  • Alexis Livanos, Northrop Grumman
  • Sir David King, University of Oxford
  • Barend Van Bergen, KPMG
  • Mike Keebaugh,Raytheon
  • Peter Stott, UK Met Office
  • Trevor Maynard, Lloyd's
  • Shree Khare, Risk Management Solutions
  • Giovanni Rum, Group on Earth Observations
  • Greg Withee, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Man Cheung, Marsh Ltd




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Working as a team, and combating stress, in space

Nicole Stott is an engineer, aquanaut and one of the 220 astronauts to have lived and worked on the International Space Station. In a confined space, under huge pressure, with no way out, it's important that teams maintain healthy dynamics, and individuals can manage their stress adequately, and in this podcast Nicole explains a little about...




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NASA lengthens SpaceX's first crewed mission to International Space Station

The duration of SpaceX's first mission with astronauts on board -- planned for launch at 4:32 p.m. EDT on May 27 from Florida -- has been extended from a few days to potentially weeks aboard the space station.




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Why Torture Keeps Pace With Enlightenment

In the year 65, the Roman emperor Nero discovered that a group of nobles had hatched a conspiracy to kill him. The tyrant captured the suspects one by one and threatened them with torture; most confessed and implicated others. One of the conspirators, Epicharis, was publicly tortured -- her bones...




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American public space, rebooted: What might it feel like?




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American public space, rebooted: What might it feel like?




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The PACE Perspective on the 'The California Way'

Policy Analysis for California Education has been a premier ed policy organization for three decades. As Daisy Gonzales writes, it is in the forefront of shaping current reforms and interpreting them for audiences such as 'On California.'