Policing cybercrime or militarizing cybersecurity? Security mindsets and the regulation of threats from cyberspace

Abstract

This article asks how the perception of security and threats in cyberspace play an important role in justifying which means and measures are employed by different security actors and agencies. For this purpose, this article focuses on the way in which threats from cyberspace are conceptualized by identifying distinct mindsets of security. It will present the idea of different ‘security mindsets’ as distinct approaches to security and how these play a role in regulating cyberspace and influencing legal regulations. For this purpose, this article differentiates between a military security mindset – a mindset that is primarily concerned with military and strategic considerations of national security – and a liberal security mindset – which perceives security together with individual rights and balancing interest. The main question guiding this discussion is how the perception of security in cyberspace determines responses and their legal justification.