Leiden University Student Repository

Veenendaal, Dominick (2022)

Understanding the grey areas of cyber espionage: A case study of Stuxnet & Duqu

Bachelor thesis | Security Studies (BSc)

There is an academic and societal gap in distinguishing between cyber espionage and other cyber operations such as cyber-attacks. Scholar’s and the media are contradicting each other when referring to cyber activities. These contradictions may create problems for policymakers, as there can be no international regulation if there is no distinction between these two operations. Therefore, this thesis analyzes the case studies of Stuxnet and Duqu and how they inform us about cyber espionage. This thesis used a qualitative and an inductive approach in order to analyze the case studies. The results indicate that cyber espionage is used for secretly stealing information without inflicting damage. In addition, cyber espionage can be a part of a multiphase campaign where it operates as a pre-face for a cyber-attack. Moreover, as there is an absence of a regulatory framework regarding cyber espionage, states are motivated to invest in their offensive and defensive cyber capabilities.

Cyberespionage, Cyber-attack, Stuxnet, Duqu, Cyberwarfare, Cyber operations, Attribution, Clandestine.

Author

Veenendaal, Dominick

Faculty

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Specialisation

Intelligence Studies

Supervisors

Tropina, T.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en