4. Cyberthreats and Euro-Atlantic Security

Cyberspace and new digital technologies and ways of communicating will have a considerable impact on Euro-Atlantic security and strategic stability. Many of the central beliefs that underpinned international politics during the years of the Cold War have become increasingly irrelevant in the face of new types of economic competition, forms of conflicts, factors of power and international influence, new actors and a generally new global environment. Information technologies, the Internet and cyberspace are probably the most significant differences between the Cold War and the twenty-first century. Today, information exists in at least three different capacities: an asset, a tool and a domain, each of which has strategic importance. As a result, the “cyber” factor poses many new political challenges that every nation must deal with in its own unique way. The information revolution and cyberspace are therefore both significant game changers for international relations and security. The new environment is unprecedented, and thus it may prove very difficult if not impossible to employ past experiences as a means to address these emerging challenges.