Unresolved questions dog international cybersecurity policies

Cyberspace presents international security threats, many that can only be adequately met through international cooperation. But experts say countries around the world are just beginning to work out the complicated questions surrounding international responses to cybersecurity.

In the United States, businesses and government agencies have reported a growing number of sophisticated cyberattacks. In a report to Congress, U.S. intelligence agencies said hackers in China and Russia are stealing large amounts of U.S. technological and trade secrets. Such attacks have national-security and economic implications, James Miller, principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for policy, said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies forum. With the United States seeking to retain its dominant role in the world, "It's just a lot harder to do when potential adversaries and others are inside our networks," Miller said. While repeating DOD policy that a government response to a cyberattack may not be limited to cyberspace, Miller said no one agency, business, or country can secure cyberspace by itself.