International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

Cybersecurity and National Sovereignty: Challenges in the Digital Age

In the modern context the interaction and intertwining of the cyberspace and state sovereignty is a significant factor that causes concerns among governments, companies and, people. Data breaches, cyber-attacks, and cyber warfare are real security threats to most countries, economies and political sovereignty. This paper focuses on the various ways through which cybersecurity cuts across sovereignty with a view of analysing the difficulties that states experience when protecting their territories in the complex world where nations are interconnected through computers and networks. It offers a comprehensive understanding of the challenges to sovereignty: state-sponsored cyber operations, cyber spying, cyber warfare and cyberspace as an instrument of warfare. The paper also dissects the dynamically changing environment due to advanced innovative technologies which include; artificial intelligence, IoT and quantum computing. Also, it evaluates the current approaches to protect national interests in the cyber space such as policies, multilateral cooperation and technologies. Ethical issues, social concerns and impacts of cybersecurity practises, including issues of privacy, and surveillance, are also discussed. In essence, the study ends with an proposals for further cyber security studies and collaboration for maintaining national sovereignty in the info-age.