Internet Impact On National Information Security Strategy

Information and cyber technology, developing from the middle of 20th century, has changed the world significantly, including the styles of production and living of human beings. The Internet can be seen everywhere nowadays. On the one hand, Internet has enhanced the efficiency of production and the quality of life, added huge value to the human beings, and changed the operation style of the entire society; On the other hand, due to the bug of the Internet and the human abuse of it, Internet has posted threats to national security."Cyber Security"has been putted on the agenda for every government aournd the world. The importance of"Cyber Security"and"Information Security"are becoming more and more important in national security."Cyber information"is an inevitable variable of national policy making to politicians and scholars.This paper focuses on information security in the Cyber Age. In foreword, the concepts of information, Internet, national security and national information security are analyzed and defined. In Chapter One, the relationship between Internet and national security in the areas of military, political and economic affairs are analyzed deeply. In Chapter Two, the theoretical assumptions of National Security from the perspectives of Neorealism and Neoliberalism are examined, the limitations of these two theory in cyber age are also been analyzed. In chapter Three, a theoretical framework of approaching information security from a Constructivist perspective is proposed. In Chapter Four, the formation and evolution of American National Information Security Strategy is analyzed as a case. Specially, the evolution process from"Tactic Defense"to"Strategic Attack"after the"9?11"terrorist attack is analyzed. The effect of American National Information Security Strategy is also reviewed.This thesis critically inherits from the concepts of"Power"and"International System"of Neorealism and Neoliberalism, combines System Theory with Constructivism, then uses them to analyze the formulation and evolution of National Information Security Strategy. The evolution of American National Information Security Strategy is used as a case to test it.The innovations of this paper are: (1) This paper focuses on information security in Cyber Age, treats Internet as an independent variable and National Information Security as dependent variable. Emphases are placed on the infect of the development of Internet to National Information Security. (2) This paper combines System Theory with Constructivism and uses them to the research of National Information Research, regarding international community as a big system. This big system includes"Internal System"and"External System". This peaper will find the law of building the National Information Structure by interacting between"Internal System"and"External System"systems and different parts of a system. (3) Invoking the objective development course, this study finds the evolution process of American Information Security Policy into two phases, which are"Tactic Defense"and"Strategic Attack". The analysis of evolution process is preceded with policy level and government's actions separately.