Abstract

Control over national security, criminal conduct, critical infrastructures, global financial services, competitive strategy, medical records, trade and development, intellectual property, privacy, and a host of other important rights and responsibilities is governed by a paradigm that is conducted in the virtual world. Cyber activity has introduced a whole new meaning to “globalism.” The conundrum of national intelligence, corporate competition, and privacy raises vital questions of policy and doctrine as to the troubling problems of attribution, forensic capabilities, and self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. Cyber threats have created a conundrum among the goals of each of these competing interests due to technological convergence and infinite jurisdictional issues. Scholars agree that how this paradox is managed has serious legal implications in the United States and around the world. A global legal framework that balances national and private interests would enhance confidence and improve legal certainty in the global electronic marketplace. Based on empirical research this article explores the unique characteristics of cyberspace and the existing legal concepts and doctrines for national intelligence and cybersecurity and organizes a conceptual legal structure for balancing the triumvirate of national security, corporate competitiveness and individual privacy rights in the cyberspace. This article explores and delineates where frameworks are needed to advance the goals of the public and the private sectors in the cyber domain. This article argues for a collaborative approach that would enable the public and the private, and the international and local interests to come together to create a hybrid framework for cybersecurity that best serves the needs of all.