A single government is inadequate on its own to ensure the security of the information infrastructure and to prevent its use for criminal purposes.

Security in Traditional Terms

A fundamental function of government is to ensure the security of the land. Indeed, in customary international law, this security is considered one of the hallmarks of sovereignty.

Challenges for Security in Cyberspace

The conception of security in cyberspace has undergone dramatic change in its short history to date. Just a few years ago, cybersecurity was construed as protecting the information infrastructure for the sake of that infrastructure itself. Now, however, the concept is larger, as cybersecurity today is viewed as central to general security. (For example, a disabling of the Net would wreak havoc on industrialized societies.) In this sense, security is the first area where the real and virtual worlds have become blended.

International Cooperation to Address These Challenges

Seeing the need to cooperate on cybersecurity, governments are coordinating legal and technological responses.

In this area especially, there is a critical need to bring the private sector into the process as the private sector in many respects has the best technological expertise. However, governments and private enterprises naturally have divergent interests. One government's notion of order may be highly objectionable to another, and businesses must focus on their own competitiveness and profitability.

Hence, while international cooperation in cybersecurity is helping to ensure a safe, predictable environment on and offline, there are serious tensions in the interests involved. The prospect of a permanent, international cybersecurity system naturally warrants great attention.