Cybersecurity Mission Creep in the US

A recent paper discusses the concept of mission creep in the context of cybersecurity in the US. This phenomenon occurs when policymakers increasingly frame various problems as cybersecurity issues. As a result, diverse policy issues such as misinformation and social media safety laws are being redefined as cybersecurity concerns. This reframing, known as cybersecuritization, transforms these issues into perceived existential threats by emphasizing their technological aspects. Prior to this shift, these issues were viewed as important but not necessarily existential. The paper explores how this expanding definition of cybersecurity is affecting policy discussions.