By nature, cyber conflicts are an international issue that span across nation-state borders. By the end of the course, you will be able to apply the knowledge gained for analysis and management of international cyber incidents and conflicts including for activities such as development of policy related to cybercrime and cyberwarfare. Management of cyber incidents and conflicts requires an interdisciplinary perspective including an understanding of: 1) characteristics of the cyber threats and conflicts themselves, 2) international efforts to reduce and improve cyber security, and 3) psychological and sociopolitical factors. The course is designed to reach an international audience and will encourage discussion on relevant current events among participants to enrich the experience with various personal and cultural perspectives on cutting-edge issues. In addition, assignments and other assessments will supplement video lectures and selected readings to ensure application of the material. After taking this course you will be able to: • Identify different types of actors involved in cyber threats (individuals, organizations & nation-states) • Distinguish between different types of threats and issues in cyber security including, data theft, political espionage, critical infrastructure protection, and propaganda • Detail the basic characteristics of the Internet infrastructure and international efforts to address Internet governance • List several international efforts to address cyber crime and espionage • Evaluate how principals that govern international conflicts might be applied in context of cyber security • Apply different psychological theories of human motivation and cooperation and communication and political theories in analysis of different international issues related to cyber security including censorship, media operations and role of social technologies. Grading: Your grade is assessed based on discussion posts and quizzes. Individual taking this course for credit (i.e. students at the University at Albany y will be required to engage in additional activities communicated to them directly). Recommended Background: No background knowledge or skills are necessary, but an understanding and familiarity of cyber security, Internet infrastructure and international law would be advantageous for anyone who participates in the course. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Ersin Dincelli and Nic DePaula were the instructional designers for the course who assisted in the recording of the videos, reviewing material, creating slides, assessments and some of the content. Without their tremendous effort this would not have been possible. We also acknowledge the financial support for the recordings from the University at Albany as well as the support from Media and Marketing. Finally, thanks to Lisa Stephens who is the SUNY liaison to Coursera for being a strong supporter of the MOOC.
AA
It was an excellent has w course to introduce about basics of international cyber law.The instructor has explained all the contents effectively.
KH
Whilst some of the required reading links didn't work that didn't really detract from this excellent little course. I enjoyed it and learnt a lot.
CH
Parts are thin on detail. This is a good and broad overview but lacks in-depth information of use to cyber security specialists. Still, a good course to start with if you plan to move forward.
GR
Great course for professionals working in the filed of Cyber Crime investigation. The classes are very interactive with the question patterns.
OF
Excellent overview of existing state of play. Also very interesting coverage of psychology underpinning cyber behaviours. Thank you for this enlightening course!
LP
Great course! Learned a lot about Cyber Warfare and how countries can build up trust and cooperation between themselves to tackle third party threats in the cyberspace.
MC
Some of the later lectures, especially the one's on trust seemed to be thrown together and the instructors weren't as well versed or confident.
IH
This study really helped me to find out what could cause conflicts between countries, and how to build trust between countries on the internet.
BK
I wish there should be a more detailed and broadened bulletins of particular and concrete cases about cyber conflicts throughout the whole world.
NT
Some readings cannot be accessed. It would be nice if you provide more case studies and explain more about it, so that we can see the whole image clearly.
RA
Best regards. The course is very wonderful. The explanation is excellent and beautiful. I learned and benefited. Thank you for this wonderful and beautiful course.
HM
It was a course that it filled some knowledge gaps, you should start a new chapter related to cyber conflict and how to avoid any threat or recognize them.
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This is a super interesting course, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in tech and its impact on foreign policy.
The lectures are very well-organized. The topics are also cover in this field. However, the lectures are very dry and boring. The main professor were reading the scripts on the monitor. From my perspective, with his knowledge in this field as being described on his personal web site, he should be able to talk comfortably by looking at the topic on the slide then discuss about it in detail. I would suggest to change the environment to be at the wide open space, like coffee shop, to make this course more attractive. I'm sorry, it is not what I expected.
The title of this course does not reflect its contents.
Modes of presentation were not very appealing (images, examples, visuals).
Lecturer needs to work on his presentation skills.
This is a great course to understand where the areas of conflicts are in cyber space and also it is an extensive course comparing the traditional models of warfare and cyber arena , the learning and outcomes from the psychological point of view,also the examples of game theory concepts to draw strategies and sensitivity to the international cyber warfare arena and cooperation is interesting and convincing. Though there exists local sensitivity on data sharing and other rough edges,i felt the course touched the most rough edges and tools to build trust among the nations. I also wish there were few cyber tools introduced for monitoring and forensics like packet analysis etc. Overall good course.
A well-structured course that provides learners with an overall understanding of cybersecurity on a behavioural, social and political basis. This is a great interdisciplinary course that students and specialists can overtake to expand their knowledge on this subject by avoiding the technical or IT jargon.
I have learnt the causes of cyber conflicts and raising tensions among nations, the causes and how nations can come to mutual understanding or agreements. Thanks.
Excellent overview of existing state of play. Also very interesting coverage of psychology underpinning cyber behaviours. Thank you for this enlightening course!
Muy buen enfoque, necesitamos una segunda parte
The same information was covered in multiple lessons. It was a very conceptual look at cyber conflicts that you could get if you paid attention to the news over the last five years.
while enrolling to this course they mentioned free course along with the certificate but after completion of course they are charging around 2100/- for certificate. this is unfair
Course material was interesting but very rudimentary, the courses biggest challenge was understanding its spoken English. I do not recommend this course.
worst course ever i've seen in my lfe
obvious contents
worst teaching
Bonjour cher(e) Professeur(e), En ce jour marquant du 15 avril 2025, dans le cadre du cours Introduction à la cybercriminalité – Explications psychologiques, je tiens à vous exprimer toute ma reconnaissance. Grâce à votre enseignement, j’ai eu l’opportunité d’approfondir ma compréhension de la cybersécurité, un domaine qui me passionne tout particulièrement. En tant que professeur d’histoire et de géopolitique des Balkans, ambassadeur de la paix auprès de l’ONU, et fondateur de la Mission SKUN Foundation, je suis honoré de suivre vos cours et d’enrichir ma perspective grâce à votre savoir. Votre rigueur académique, la profondeur de vos analyses et la passion que vous transmettez ont permis d'établir des ponts solides entre les enjeux juridiques aux États-Unis et les réalités géopolitiques mondiales. Vous avez su rendre accessibles des concepts complexes, tout en démontrant leur utilité concrète dans un monde en constante mutation. Votre enseignement a non seulement renforcé mes connaissances, mais a aussi nourri mon intérêt croissant pour le droit, les relations internationales, et bien sûr, la cybersécurité. C’est avec enthousiasme que je souhaite poursuivre mes recherches et mes engagements dans ces domaines, fort de l'inspiration que vous m'avez apportée. En ce jour symbolique, je vous adresse mes félicitations les plus sincères pour votre rôle essentiel dans la transmission du savoir. Avec toute ma gratitude, Muharrem Shabani Ambassadeur & Professeur Président de la Mission SKUN Foundation https://skunfoundation.org Je m'appelle Muharrem Shabani, je viens de la République du Kosovo, et je suis actuellement étudiant à la Johns Hopkins University de Baltimore, Maryland, USA. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 étoiles) Les cyberconflits internationaux représentent aujourd’hui un enjeu majeur pour la sécurité globale. Leur complexité vient du fait qu’ils transcendent les frontières physiques, posant des défis uniques en matière de droit international, d’attribution des attaques, et de coopération entre États. Ils obligent les nations à repenser la souveraineté numérique et à développer des mécanismes de réponse coordonnés, tout en veillant à la protection des libertés fondamentales. Ce domaine est fascinant, car il évolue rapidement, à la croisée de la technologie, de la géopolitique, du droit et de la psychologie.
Good course balance with structured curriculum. Examples are not included and the premises rest on theoretical what ifs with no direction.
The course was therefore a type of open - ended discussion platform with very limited real-world instances of cyber mania. As a result, most of the discussions had to hinge on alarmist hyperbole with antagonistic undertones rather than solution seeking efforts to fit with the course reading materials.
What is missing?
-- existing conflicts
-- identification of international governing relevance with respect to presumed hard-core results of potential future attacks
-- lack of circuitous interaction because hacking other government systems through discussions is deemed necessary to share operational information to prevent such hacks. Bizarre lack of respect, and hegemony does seem to be present.
Good Course! This course by professors from SUNY Albany was a great introduction to cyber conflicts. Everything worked and the professors were easy to understand. The material was well thought out. The presentations were the right length; at most 15-18 minutes and included questions. Questions in the videos worked here because they reinforced the messages in the video. The suggested reading; Cybersecurity and Cyberwar by Singer and Friedman looked like a good book so I bought it. It was a very good read.
Sinceramente pensaba que los cursos de Coursera no un soporte y estructura profesional, con esto no quiero decir que fuesen de mala calidad o algo por el estilo, sin embargo, es todo lo contrario, me sorprendio mucho la estructura, los materiales de estudio (son un poco viejitos, pero al día de hoy del momento de la escritura de este comentario), así como los videos de apoyo.
Gracias Coursera por el apoyo!
This was an excellent course. Good lectures, excellent readings. I am a retired Community College Instructor/Dean - retired and love learn new things. I truly enjoy keeping up with my professional topics (Computer Science) as learning new material. I shall be taking more Coursera classes. Thank you for professional material. Keep up the good work
Good course to have a structured foundation for understanding the Cyber Security domain in context of international, policy and actors perspective. It sets the differentiation of Cyber Crime versus War and Terrorism and the perpetrator but as well gave me important intellectual triggers to further understand interferences between between those.