ABSTRACT

While cyber-threats had played a minor role in the overall security strategy and orientation of the administrations of both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, during the Clinton administration they were anchored firmly within the broader security political agenda as a ‘new’ threat and gained a prominent role in the national security strategy. To understand this development, we must first take into account the major reorientation of general security policy after the end of the Cold War. At the core of the debate lie the problem of ‘new’ threats and the inability of the traditional security apparatus to counter them.