The key to keeping cyberspace safe? An international accord.

When Americans think about cybersecurity, they tend to focus on symptoms rather than causes -- it’s a symptom when almost every month a major company is hacked and millions of personal records are stolen. We pit weak defenses against skilled opponents. Changing this won’t be easy, because there is no automatic fix, no new technology and no private action that can stop cybercrime and tame the Internet’s Wild West.

First, we must recognize that most malicious actions in cyberspace directed against the United States come from hackers in two countries: China and Russia. These nations encourage their hackers to go after networks, data and money in the United States, and they protect them from prosecution. That the United States’ most active opponents in cyberspace are China and Russia (along with up-and-comers Iran and North Korea) is not a coincidence. These countries are our military rivals. Cyberspace creates opportunities to exercise national power, and these nations have seized those opportunities.