The economics of cybersecurity: From the public good to the revenge of the industry

Abstract

In the aftermath of Edward Snowden’s intelligence revelations, many governments around the world are increasingly elaborating so-called «digital sovereignty» policies. The declared aim is to develop trusted technologies to protect the more sensitive networks. The ambition of this article is to turn over the complex- and often contrasting- motivations and interests behind the industrial policy movements, explain how the dominant representation of cybersecurity as public good is impacting the public policy and analyse the dynamics between private and public players.