Cyberspace stability is already a prioritized topic in global governance agenda. There are already some initiatives starting to focus on the cyber stability issues, including Global commission on the stability of cyberspace, who defined“stability of cyberspace is the condition where individuals and institutions can be reasonably confident in their ability to use cyberspace safely and securely, where the availability and integrity of services in cyberspace is generally assured, where change is managed in relative peace, and where tensions are resolved in a peaceful manner.”International Security Advisory Board, believes Cyber Stability would enhance continuity of relations between nations in the face of attack or exploitation through cyber means. Another initiative made by MIT and SIIS discussed the Military Cyber Stability, which refers to the condition under which interactions in the cyber dimension do not unduly destabilize traditional security architectures and force postures.

We are entering into an age of maintaining strategic stability of cyberspace. Cyberspace is disruptive, it is changing the nature of global strategic stability. Not just because The Internet was born from preventing the Nuclear attack. DARPA designed the original internet in order to maintain command and control over its missiles and bombers after a nuclear attack. Unfortunately, after over 50 years development of the internet, all nuclear state worries about their nuclear r command and control systems under the threat of cyberattack right now. This caused people nervous about the traditional strategic stability will be broken. More importantly. Cyberspace is already a strategic domain, which covers such diverse areas as from nuclear command and control systems up to personal cell phones. Equipment of a total amount of 200 billion will be connected in the future.

To understand strategic stability, we need to better understand the cyberspace. In social sciences, cyberspace is usually seen as the mapping of physical space into the digital world. In addition to related technologies, cyberspace also covers such dimensions in physical space as actors, behavior, as well as rules and norms, transcending the traditional “international norm dynamics.” To be more specific, political, economic, social, cultural, military, scientific and technological activities of mankind in physical space are mapped into cyberspace by the process of informatization.

From this definition, we can define four basic characteristics of cyberspace related to strategic stability.

Basic Characteristics of Cyberspace

● Disruptive is the impact of cyber to existing international system.

● Strategic describes the nature of state competition in cyberspace.

● Integrated means cyberspace should not be balkanized.

● Holistic applies to the construction of rules, norms, laws in cyberspace.

According to maintain the four basic characteristics cannot be changed by state behaviors, the goals of strategic stability in cyberspace are:

● Keep state strategic competition in check.

● Manage constraints to use cyber technology (e.g. adapt the international system accordingly).

● Consider the integrity of cyberspace in policy-making.

● Use holistic approaches for global governance of cyberspace.

According to the previous studies, here we can define the strategic stability in cyberspace as that the responsible state behavior should ensure the continuing evolvement of the global internet, avoid balkanization of cyberspace, protect the critical infrastructure from cyber military operations, exclude nuclear command and control systems as military targets. Also we need international cooperation to maintain the strategic stability in cyberspace. The international society should first Build a common understanding of strategic stability in cyberspace, raise the awareness of the importance of the strategic stability issues. Then we need more strategic coordination among big powers, in order to regulate their behavior in cyberspace, as well as avoid the cyber conflicts. Then, the international society also should develop governance mechanisms for cyber technology, to share knowledge and experiences like we did in other areas, which will be helpful to promote discourse in expert communities.

Finally, to establish institutions to maintain strategic stability in cyberspace, which the UN may need to convene the state top leaders to discuss how to design the institutions for peace in cyberspace.