The Internet’s capacity to transmit data at high speed and at low cost has substantially changed social and political interactions and the way in which business is organized and conducted. However, as beneficial as the diffusion of digital technologies into more and more aspects of life may be, their misuse is also increasing. In 2015, 38% more security incidents were detected than in the previous year, according to a report from IBM and the Ponemon Institute. More than 169 million personal records were exposed in 2015, stemming from 781 publicized breaches in the financial, business, education, government, and health care sectors, according to a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center. In short, the Internet has a security problem.

Cybersecurity is one approach geared toward countering ...