NATO as a global cybersecurity power

Abstract

The landscape of threats has been undergoing a tremendous change. As the state institutions, infrastructure providers, banks, and companies operate in cyber realm, the security of this realm has become increasingly a main facet of the national security. Even military operations have been entrenched in cyber operations with the articulation of new concepts such as hybrid warfare. US Department’s recognition of attacks on computer networks as an act of war demonstrates the relevance of cybersecurity to security of the states. Similarly, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) included cyberspace as the fourth domain besides air, land, and sea in 2016. Digital authoritarianism promoted by China for the aim of spreading its digital norms across the world and hybrid warfare promulgated to disrupt the stability of the countries located in the post-Soviet space necessitates NATO’s active involvement in cybersecurity realm. In 2021, it unveiled an ambitious NATO 2030 agenda in which NATO positioned itself a global competitor against rising threat of cyberattacks. Since Internet and cyber networks are inherently transnational, responding to cyberthreats requires a global approach. Thus, defining cybersecurity as a priority area is an important step in transforming NATO from a regional organization to a global one. This study aims at examining NATO’s endeavors to tackle cyberthreats and its evolving role in the global arena. The members’ positions in setting up a common approach concerning cybersecurity will determine NATO’s transformation into a global security actor.