Evolution Of U.S. Cyber-security Policies And Its Implications For China

Since the birth of the Internet, people’s lives have been fundamentally changed.The information revolution and the advent of the computer into our society haveundoubtedly made life easier and comfortable. However, this new promising age alsocarries within it peril. Computer networks are vulnerable to destruction and intrusiondue to the asymmetrical nature of cyber threats and inherent vulnerability of cyberspace. Cyber security has a bearing on everyone who relies on this vast network. As atechnological power, the United States has the most sophisticated cyber securitypolicies among all nations. From the Clinton administration to the present Obamaadministration, U.S. cyber security policies have been constantly evolving andadapting. In the course of its evolution, some aspects of the policy remain unchanged,while other aspects shift their focus to better protect its critical infrastructure. Ananalysis of the continuity and changes in U.S. cyber security policies will shed lighton what China should learn from the United States in designing its cyber securitypolicy. In implementing the cyber security policies, the U.S. government alsoexposed certain deficiencies, undercutting the effectiveness of those policies. As thecyber world is transnational in nature, cyber security policies of such an Internetpower like the United States definitely exert a far-reaching impact on China. It notonly has a stimulating impact on China’s own cyber security effort, but also exerts aspill-over effect on China-U.S. relations as a whole.