Only (dis)connect: Facing the intertwined (in)security of self, systems and society

This paper asks a series of deliberately naive and provocative questions about cybersecurity in its sociotechnological contexts. Why connect? Can we, and indeed should we, continue to extend connections without thinking about insecurity? Who is made vulnerable and what is lost in connection? Who is responsible? What is to be done? This article considers these questions at different scales from the personal to the societal and argues that, in the face of connection as a default position and a social norm, disconnection needs to be re-emphasized as a basic social and cybersecurity posture.