This book is about the phenomenon of cyber-threats, signifying the malicious use of information and communication technologies. Cyber-threats are counted among the 'new' threats to security - mostly non-military in nature - and were moved onto the political agendas of many countries following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. At times, cyber-threats were even placed at the top of the list of modern threats. However, statements like these do not take into consideration the single most defining feature of cyber-threats: their unsubstantiated nature. In other words, despite their persuasiveness, cyber-threats have clearly not yet materialized as a "real" national security threat. What we can observe nonetheless is the firm establishment, worldwide proliferation, and persistence of this threat image, which has a strong illusory component, on the national security agenda. Given this backdrop, this book aims at understanding the political process that (a) propels threats onto the political agenda; (b) removes threats from the agenda; or (c) alters the perception of threats on the political agenda - a political process that we label "threat politics". The basis for the examination is the securitization approach, which takes into consideration various factors surrounding the formation of security policy agendas.

In the empirical section, the book focuses on the development of the cyber-threat debate in the US, starting in the 1980s and ending in 2004.This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, information warfare and IR theory.