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TITLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
DISCRIPTION..
MECHANISM OF CYBERSPACE
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF CYBER SPACE....

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SUBMITTED TO
MAM ZAIB KAWAL

CYBER
SPACE AND
ITS
ADVANTAGE
S
DISADVANTA
GES

SUBMITTED BY
TALHA AZIZ (39)

Date of submission: 8 Jan.

2019

Introduction

The term cyberspace is "cybernetics", derived from the Ancient Greek "kybernetes". The "term" cyber has
been used to describe almost anything that has to do with networks and computers, especially in the security
field. Cyberspace is a new universe, a parallel universe created and sustained by the worlds computers and
communication lines. A metaphor for describing the non-physical terrain created by computer systems. A
world in which the global trafc of knowledge, secrets, measurements, indicators, entertainments, and alterhuman agency takes on form: sights, sounds, presences never seen on the surface of the earth blossoming in
a vast electronic night. The key characteristic of cyberspace is that it offers an environment that consists of
many participants with the ability to affect and influence each other. In the present world we can say that
each person is surrounded by cyberspace. Cyberspace represents the new medium of communication,
electronic communication, which is fast outmoding, or even replacing, more traditional methods of
communication. Cyberspace is a global artificial reality environment based on a global mesh of
interconnected computer networks allowing and making it possible for anyone using a point of entry device
like a computer, smartphone, or any other Internet enabled electronic device to reach anyone else, with the
potential to access the mesh, through a one-on-one, one-to-many, and many-to-one communication
capabilities or through broadcasting via the World Wide Web. Some programs, particularly computer games,
are designed to create a special cyberspace, one that resembles physical reality in some ways but defies it in
others. In its extreme form, called virtual reality. Cyberspace could thus be understood as a place capable of
controlling information, as a way that enables people to control certain devices through computers that give
them a feeling of some kind of feedback.
Origin of the Term Cyberspace and Definition
The term "cyberspace" first appeared in the visual arts in the late 1960, when Danish artist Susanne
Ussing (1940-1998) and her partner architect Carsten Hoff (b. 1934) constituted themselves as Atelier
Cyberspace. According to both of them cyberspace was simply about managing spaces. There was nothing
esoteric about it. Nothing digital, either. It was just a tool. The space was concrete, physical. The word
"cyberspace" is credited to William Gibson, who used it in his book, Neuromancer, written in 1984. Gibson
defines cyberspace as "a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in
every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts. A graphical representation of data abstracted
from the banks of every computer in the human system, Unthinkable complexity, Lines of light ranged in the
non-space of the mind, clusters and constellations of data". He was describing the vision of a threedimensional space of pure information consisting of networks of computers linking people, machines, and
other objects as information sources and sinks. The term "Cyberspace" started to become an in fact
synonym for the Internet, and later the World Wide Web, during the 1990s, especially in academic
circles and activist communities.

We can define cyberspace as Cyberspace is a domain characterized by the use of electronics and the
electromagnetic spectrum to store, modify, and exchange data via networked systems and associated
physical infrastructures. In effect, cyberspace can be thought of as the interconnection of human beings
through computers and telecommunication, without regard to physical geography.
Cyberspace and telepresence. Anyone who is in the presence of cyberspace is also surrounded by
the state of telepresence. Telepresence is a sophisticated form of robotic remote control in which a human
operator has a sense of being on location so that the experience resembles virtual reality. The remotelycontrolled robot and the human operator can be located at a great distance from each other. Telepresence is
simply a feeling one gets of being present at a place other than their true location.
Description
Cyber is most useful as part of the compound word cyberspace and cyberspace is simply the man-made
domain created when we connect all of the computers, switches, routers, fibres optic cables, wireless
devices, satellites and other components that allow us to move large amounts of data at very fast speeds. As
with the physical domains land, maritime, air, space we conduct a variety of activities in cyberspace to
benefit individuals, commercial entities and governments. The key difference between cyberspace and the
physical domains is that cyberspace is man-made and constantly changing. That characteristic offers both
opportunities and risk.
Cyberspace should be classified as a dimension of the global commons. Viewing cyberspace as part
of the global commons sets the stage for a number of useful analogies that facilitate the development of
policy, domestic and international law, safe operating procedures, individual rights, commercial use, national
interests and myriad other issues that we have worked through for the maritime and air domains.
Establishing and enforcing accepted norms for operating on the high seas and in domestic and international
airspace is a process that never ends. Technology changes, political interests evolve and competition for
resources is continuous. Territorial rights in the South China Sea and debate on the use of remotely piloted
aircraft for personal, commercial and government use are examples of how governance of the legacy
global commons requires constant attention. Cyberspace requires an analogous governance mechanism to
define and protect individual, business and nation-states rights. Some of the challenges to creating an
accepted governance structure are the ubiquitous nature of cyberspace, the fact that access to cyberspace for
good or evil can be cheap and non-attributable and, as opposed to the static nature of water and air, the
cyberspace domain itself is in a perpetual state of change. We do not need to start from scratch with this
work. In the maritime and air domains we have defined roles and responsibilities for all of the users and at
times they intersect. The electronics, including all information and communications systems, are the
infrastructure in this domain. And there we agree the infrastructure of the Cyberspace domain is more
malleable and easier to change than infrastructure in the other physical domains. According to some scholars
Cyberspace is a geophysical operational warfighting domain whose unique physical characteristics are

defined by the use of the electromagnetic spectrum as its physical terrain. This make it Geophysical Domain
by defining its physical borders in the form of electromagnetic spectrum.
Mechanism of Cyberspace
Cyberspace as universally understood as the metaphor of computers, devices or networks which gives access
to a human being to enter into an environment that seek to be the virtual environment. We can say that most
complex form of internet has developed the cyberspace. The boundaries of cyberspace are extended where
electromagnetic waves of internet are present. This space is an environment just like a real environment but
difference is that it is integration of both concrete and abstract things. The cyber environment is similar to
the air and space environments, in that a vehicle has to traverse the medium. Naturally, the context is
different, but in all cases items such as location, speed, and path to traverse the medium, and surrounding
terrain have to be taken into account. Cyberspace is also said to be the communication over network on large
scale of billions of computers anywhere in the universe. We can also say that most complex form of internet
becomes cyberspace. Four later model can completely explain the mechanism of the cyberspace working.
A Four Layer Model
It is an attempt to capture the character of cyberspace using a model with four layers. From the top
down, the important layers are:

The people who participate in the cyber-experiencewho communicate, work with information,
make decisions and carry out plans, and who themselves transform the nature of cyberspace by

working with its component services and capabilities.

The information that is stored, transmitted, and transformed in cyberspace.
The logical building blocks that make up the services and support the platform nature of cyberspace.
The physical foundations that support the logical elements.

Cyberspace and Cyber Security

The process of securing information or assets that are contained in cyberspace is known as
cybersecurity. This is especially important in the business world where information assets are kept on ever
increasing complex information systems, which in turn require even more sophisticated defence methods.
According to Vaccas Computer and Information Security Handbook, Most people are unfamiliar with the
way computers truly function and what goes on behind the scenes. It is up to the CEO of modern
organizations to ensure they have the most efficient task force of security specialists lead by a well-qualified
Chief Information Officer (CIO). This task force should be responsible in providing a better defence against
the modern infestations of intellectual theft, phishing scams, deliberate destruction of data and other
cybercrimes. Some of the modern challenges a CIO faces include managing employee awareness of threats,
developing an effective cybersecurity program in line with the organizations mission, managing risks and
ensuring resilience in the organizations information systems. Cybersecurity is going to continue to grow as
organizations invest in protecting their information infrastructure against the ever increasing threat of cybercrime. About $14 billion dollars have been fixed by US government for cyber security in the start of 2016.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Cyberspace

Advantages
Cyberspace has brought the revolution in the world. It connects a man sitting in the deep ocean or he is
out of the terrain of the earth. Revolution brought by cyberspace is very beneficial for an individual,
organization, country and whole world.
Education and knowledge. In the field of study it is equally beneficial for kids and PHD scholars. Each
and every sort of information is available in the terrain of cyberspace. The Internet is a virtual library of
information. You can get any kind of information on any topic that you desire. No restriction of the time or
race is present in the terrain of internet or cyberspace. Digital libraries and knowledge hub have created great
flexibility. Google reads has written 6 million books in one year only by asking users to write a password for
sign up. The change in the teaching-learning process is inevitable to reach this generation. The use of
database, conferences, emails etc. become tools of sharing material and informational resources available.
New technologies are there and arrived producing an uproar that can be mitigated with a joint effort towards
establishing parameters that make, with all these virtual tools, the classroom a virtual space, dynamic and
mostly critical and scientific.
Entertainment. The era of CDs and DVDs has been ended now. The cyberspace has had a profound
impact on entertainment, particularly since individuals have been able to gain access to it on the computers
within their own homes, and more recently on portable devices such as mobile phones and iPods. It has
provided entertainment creators with another avenue to explore, not just in still image and text but
interactively with sound, motion and the live updating of content.
E-commerce and online business. The cyberspace has created an entire business function commonly
referred to as e-business or e-commerce. E-business represents the use of Internet and business technology in
a companys operations. Most companies in the business environment have implemented some form of
Internet or business technology into their business operations. While some companies faced the major
changeover when developing an e-business function, other companies may have been on the edge of this
technology before the widespread use of the Internet. A person who has business in cyberspace terrian can
become a millionaire with in few weeks.
Security. Cyberspace has an extension of GPS that has improved the security system of any country. The
radar technology is become too much efficient that now a country can defend its territory only by the help of
a radar hub. Every drone, aircraft and jet fighter can be flashed to the ground automatically by the help of
GPS because it can identify what is going to be enter and leaving the boundaries of a country. Modern war is
not the war of weapons. It is the era of war over cyberspace, country leading in the technology especially in
cyberspace technology has not any threat of atomic war or war of modern weapons.
Hacking. Some people think that hacking works in only ways but it is very important in defeating the
terrorism plan because when you access to the think tank file of opponent then you can make several

strategies to make a plan dysfunctional. We should be thankful to the hackers who made a way to the
development of so quality antivirus software that now we are safe in the terrain of cyberspace.
Unlimited Communication. The cyber has made it easy for people to communicate
with others because it is cheap and convenient. The only costs incurred are those paid
to the Internet service provider. If you want to talk to someone who is in another part
of the globe, you can just fire up Skype or any other communication app and hold a
video chat. Services such as Skype have helped people from geographically
segmented countries to interact and share ideas. As such, people are able to share
their thoughts and views on matters affecting the globe. The cyberspace acts as
common global platform where people explore ideologies and cultures without
limitation. In short cyberspace has make this world a cyber family.
Disadvantages
Benefits provided by cyberspace may be accounted but it has too many disadvantages which wash
out its benefits. Now its disadvantages will be accounted.
Hacking non beneficial. Hacking caused an international problem when the United States
government thought about using it as a weapon to derail Yugoslav war forces. No international solution can
be proposed because the nations of the world do not have the same ideas, laws and punishments governing
hacking. Hacking has the potential to disrupt the economy, create international tension and ruin the lives of
ordinary citizens worldwide. As soon as you enter in the cyberspace all of your data can be viewed and
accessed everywhere in the world. The fact that the Internet has become a market place has also seen a rise
in fraud cases. Credit card details are particularly vulnerable. This calls for extreme caution when transacting
online.
Virus, Trojan & Other Malware. These are malicious programs in cyberspace which are very
common. They attack a computer with the sole intent of causing harm. They can make the computer
malfunction or even this can be very costly especially if you lose important data. Worse yet is the fact that
you can easily fall victim to malicious software by clicking on a link on the Internet that appears genuine.
Internet viruses can be categorized to three types - those that harm your executable boot files and system,
those that affect a specific file by destroying it and those that keep changing things in your computer like
Word files. You can protect yourself by installing a reliable anti-virus program on your computer before
accessing the Internet.
Addiction and loneliness. People also get addicted to this virtual world. This may sound bizarre, but
some people spend more than their fair amount of time on the Internet. This affects their social interactions a
great deal. This addiction has been known to be a major cause of obesity and has, in some cases, led to some
diseases like carpal tunnel syndrome. But some people disagree with addiction, John M. Grohol, claims that
it is simply people trying to escape their problems in an online world and cannot be classified as an

addiction. Jennifer R. Ferris, believe that Internet addiction is a true psychological disorder with definable
symptoms. The symptoms are comparable to any addiction, withdrawal, loss of relationships or job and
significant time consumption.
Inappropriate age content. The fact that Internet has all information you could ever need is both a
good thing and a bad things. This is because it contains age-inappropriate content like pornography.
Unfortunately, such content can be accessed by children as young as ten. All guardians and parents can do
about it is lock out harmful sites to keep their children safe. Nevertheless, this is not a full proof strategy as
children can still access the Internet from other devices. Formation of proxies to access the blocked content
have snatched the innocence of children.
Cyber blackmailing. Cyber-blackmail is the act of threatening to share information about a person
to the public, their friends or family, unless a demand is met or money is paid. So before sharing or starting
friendship in cyber boundaries keep in mind you are always in a virtual world where no one knows what is
actually going on. So keep secret contact numbers, address, family photos, and important documents. It is a
virtual world that not leaves any evidence.
Cyber

bullying.

Cyberbullying is

the

act

of

harming

or

harassing

via information

technology networks in a repeated and deliberate manner. Cyber-bullying could be limited to posting
rumours or gossips about a person in the internet bringing about hatred in others minds; or it may go to the
extent of personally identifying victims and publishing materials severely defaming and humiliating them.
With the increased use of communication technology, cyberbullying has become increasingly common,
especially among teenagers.

References
Christensson, P. (2006). Cyberspace Definition. Retrieved from http://techterms.com
Clark, D. (2010). Characterizing Cyberspace. Retrieved from https://projects.csail.mit.edu
Fanton, J.F. (2008). Rights and Responsibilities. Retrieved from
Gippson, W. (1984). Neuromancer. New York: Berkley Publishing Group
http://sperriam-net393.wikidot.com/how-has-the-internet-changed-entertainment
Levy, S. (1999). Cyber Culture. Retrieved from http://www.redem.org
Rouse, M. (2008). Retrieved from http://searchsoa.techtarget.com

Williams, B. (2014). Cyberspace what it is? Retrieved from http://.armedforcesjournal.com