In addition to public diplomacy, the U.S. government should continue to support the development of software that may make it easier for citizens of countries with repressive regimes to access the Internet without fear of surveillance.

“Cyberspace and the technologies that enable it allow people of every nationality, race, faith and point of view to communicate, cooperate and prosper like never before,” President Barack Obama said in an introduction to the report.

This year, the 47th Munich Security Conference included for the first time a special session on cybersecurity. “This may be the first time,” the president of a small European noted to the high-powered assembly, more accustomed to dealing with armies and alliances than with worms and denial-of-service attacks, “but it will not be the last.”