his is as true of cyberspace as any other area. Prior to the crisis digital technologies were being developed with the potential for transforming the work place, but their take up was relatively slow as organisational inertia privileged more traditional ways of working. Disinformation operations used social media platforms to spread fake and distorted news but, despite the hype, its impact remained limited. Cybersecurity was a growing concern for companies and governments, but its consequences were contained by the limits to our digitalisation of the work space and the concentration of vulnerabilities in a limited number of venues. The COVID-19 outbreak has changed all that.

Lockdown’s and social distancing radically increased our dependency on digital technologies. Both the UN Security Council and the European Council held online meetings by video conferencing, as did many governments’ councils of ministers. Millions of workers were forced to work from home, engaging remotely with their fellow workers. Schools and universities were forced into online education with minimum preparation and minimum experience. Teachers had to make it up as they went along, working out how to impart classes through a variety of online tools and platforms. Diplomats too have had to learn how to operate more effectively at a distance, meeting remotely while trying to replace the all important “huddles in the corner” with exchanges on WhatsApp and SnapChat.

Digital technologies have also inserted themselves into the fight against the coronavirus. Computer modelling of the likely evolution of the pandemic has been extensively used by governments to help design policy responses to the virus. Various digital devices and applications have been developed to help in tracing those infected by the virus. In the future, big data analysis of meta data from social media platforms and search engines offer the prospect of monitoring the development of pandemics and other infectious diseases in real time. But none of these developments are uncontroversial. It is clear that politicians did not really understand the limitations of computer modelling, and the modellers were uninclined to enlighten them, possibly leading to catastrophic policy mistakes. Tracing applications and analysing metadata from social media platforms and search engines raise serious issues about privacy and protection of data. Citizens themselves must debate and decide where the balance lies between privacy and protection.

As the lockdown eases many look forward to getting back to normal, reducing their dependency on digital technologies. Government leaders look forward to returning to international summits. Office workers look forward to socialising around the coffee machine, teachers to get back into the classroom and diplomats to getting back to their huddles. But many of them may be disappointed. Being forced to use technology more has broken down much of the inertia to digitalisation within organisations, whether in the public or private sector. Companies have discovered that homeworking can be more efficient than office working, eliminating the need for workers to commute and reducing the requirements for office space. Foreign Ministries and international organisations have learnt that international meetings can take place effectively online and eliminate expensive and polluting air travel. Universities, in particular, have learnt that effective online workshops can be delivered through platforms like Zoom, and that online education can in general be more effective and interactive than in the past.

Necessity is the mother of invention. But now the digital taboo has been removed, organisations are likely to move even faster in the adoption of new technologies. Companies and government departments have not only realised that home-working can be effective and cheaper. They have also realised how few of their managers and other white collar staff they really need. The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence and office automation, under the pressure of the cost-cutting pressures generated by the COVID-19 economic crisis, will shrink workforces with significant social implications. But it will also increase our dependence on digital technologies and our vulnerabilities to cyber attack. Cybersecurity will no longer be just the responsibility of the technicians, but of society as a whole. Technical solutions alone will no longer be sufficient. Governments, at all levels, will need to develop far more sophisticated cyber strategies to protect key digital infrastructures and business continuity in what will remain a volatile and dangerous international environment.