'Cyber security' is a recent addition to the global security agenda, concerned with protecting states and citizens from the misuse of computer networks for war, terrorism, economic espionage and criminal gain. Many argue that the ubiquity of computer networks calls for robust and pervasive countermeasures, not least governments concerned about their potential effects on national and economic security. Drawing on critical literature in international relations, security studies, political theory and social theory, this is the first book that describes how these visions of future cyber security are sustained in the communities that articulate them. Specifically, it shows that conceptions of time and temporality are foundational to the politics of cyber security. It explores how cyber security communities understand the past, present and future, thereby shaping cyber security as a political practice. Integrating a wide range of conceptual and empirical resources, this innovative book provides insight for scholars, practitioners and policymakers.

'An excellent and very timely book, which intrigues with smart, in-depth, theoretically driven analysis and shows proficient knowledge of several, hitherto uncombined literatures. A must-read for cyber security pundits.' Myriam Dunn Cavelty, ETH Zürich
'Provocative and original, Cyber Security and the Politics of Time reveals alternative ways of understanding the temporal implications of digital geopolitics, illustrating new possibilities in thinking and research at the intersection of social theory, international politics and cyber security.' Mark Lacy, Lancaster University

Tim Stevens is Teaching Fellow in the Department of War Studies, King's College London. He is co-author of Cyberspace and the State (2011) and has published widely on cyber security and related issues in journals such as International Political Sociology, Security Dialogue and Contemporary Security Policy.