| Eagora

Cyber security has been increasingly embedded into geopolitical dynamics. It is becoming frequent that when tensions around territorial issues rise up, cyber conflicts between those countries in disputes also ensue. This problem is even more protruding in East Asia since the region contains simultaneously an array of intractable territorial disputes and exponential growth of information technologies. The way cyber security and geopolitics intertwine has also created new challenges for territorial dispute management. In most cases, cyber conflicts relating to territorial disputes are initiated by patriotic hackers whose connection with government agencies is at most ambiguous. The form and feature of these conflicts resemble nationalistic activism rather than political aggression. This study intends to investigate through a number of case studies the actors, processes, manifestations and consequences of cyber conflict in territorial disputes. It argues that the political and strategic risks in these conflicts may provide space for regional cooperation.