From Intelligence to Infrastructure: Towards a Digital Power Strategy for Chile

The country must move beyond institutional consolidation towards a strategy that projects its national and international positioning in cyberspace and data governance.

Recent developments in the United States, particularly the “Cyber Strategy for America” (March 2026) and the recently published “National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence,” reveal a broader doctrinal shift: cybersecurity and artificial intelligence are no longer treated as separate domains, but as integrated components of state power. This shift integrates defense, critical digital infrastructure, and technological development into a coherent strategy. Cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and technological governance are not parallel domains, but a unified architecture of state power. This critical digital infrastructure constitutes the material basis of power in the digital environment. The evolution of cybersecurity policies among major powers reflects a structural transformation in how the digital environment is understood. The U.S. Cyber Strategy of March 2026 explicitly positions cybersecurity as a central component of national security, emphasizing resilience, deterrence, and the protection of critical infrastructure. It also promotes a comprehensive approach that articulates the state and the private sector under a shared strategic framework.

This approach goes beyond regulatory compliance and risk management. It introduces a logic of imposing costs on adversaries, strengthens both offensive and defensive capabilities, and prioritizes technological superiority in areas such as artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. In this way, cybersecurity becomes an operational and strategic tool for shaping the international environment.

The digital domain is no longer peripheral; it has become a central space for geopolitical competition. To respond to this transformation, Chile must move beyond institutional consolidation towards a digital power strategy, articulating intelligence, cybersecurity, and critical digital infrastructure as interdependent components of its national and international positioning.

Institutional Advances and Strategic Gap

Chile has developed important institutional pillars in recent years, including a regulatory framework in cybersecurity, the creation of specialized agencies, and the approval of a new Intelligence System Law aimed at improving coordination and long-term planning. In 2018, October was declared by law as Cybersecurity Month; in 2019, Congress approved the Digital Transformation Law of the State; in 2022, the Cybercrime Law, fully aligned with the Budapest Convention, the Fintech Law; and in 2024, the Cybersecurity Framework Law, based on the European Union’s second Directive on Security of Network and Information Systems (known as NIS2), along with the Personal Data Protection Law (2024), aligned with the European General Data Protection Regulation (known as GDPR). These regulations led to the establishment of specialized agencies such as the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANCI) and formalized the Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT). Additionally, the country has developed national cybersecurity policies in 2017 and again in 2023.

These advances constitute a solid foundation. However, despite this, Chile’s digital architecture remains fragmented both conceptually and operationally. The fragmentation of governance weakens digital power. The absence of an integrated strategic framework not only limits coordination but also reduces the state’s capacity to project influence, manage dependencies, and respond coherently to systemic risks in the digital environment.

Cybersecurity continues to be treated primarily as risk management, intelligence as a support function for decision-making, and digital infrastructure as a technical component. Unlike national security strategies in the United States and the United Kingdom, Chile has yet to articulate an explicit national security strategy that integrates these domains into a coherent vision of power. As a result, the country remains in a phase of organization rather than projection.

Modern societies depend on highly concentrated and strategic infrastructures. Submarine cables carry the majority of global data traffic, data centers host essential services, and cloud platforms structure the digital economy. Additionally, cross-border data flows support artificial intelligence systems and global trade. This critical digital infrastructure constitutes the material basis of power in the digital environment. Digital power is built not only on data but also on energy. Control of computing requires control over electricity generation. The expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure, particularly data centers, introduces a new strategic dependency on energy availability, the resilience of the electrical grid, and the national capacity to sustain high levels of computing. This dimension is largely absent in Chile’s current strategic framework. Its disruption, manipulation, or external dependency can generate systemic effects on the economy, security, and institutional stability. While the United States explicitly recognizes the centrality of these infrastructures, for example in its “Annual Threat Assessment 2026,” Chile has not yet fully incorporated them as a strategic domain within its national security architecture. This gap exposes the country to structural vulnerabilities and limits its capacity for autonomous action.

On the other hand, the new intelligence law in Chile represents a significant advance towards a more coordinated system, incorporating strategic planning and better institutional articulation. However, it does not fully integrate the digital dimension as a structural component of intelligence. States must develop sovereign capabilities to assess advanced artificial intelligence systems. This involves not only regulatory understanding but also technical capacity within the state to evaluate advanced models, anticipate their strategic implications, and reduce dependence on external actors for critical technological assessment. In major powers, intelligence, cybersecurity, and critical digital infrastructure are increasingly interconnected and are no longer treated as separate domains. Intelligence enables strategic anticipation and situational awareness. Cybersecurity ensures resilience and operational continuity, protecting critical services. Digital infrastructure supports economic performance and national defense. Together, they constitute an integrated architecture of digital power. In Chile, these components have developed in parallel, without full strategic integration. Overcoming this fragmentation is essential to advance from institutional capabilities to effective strategic capabilities.

Lessons for Chile

The recent public policy framework from the United States offers several relevant lessons. First, the importance of defining a national security strategy that situates cybersecurity within the broader exercise of state power. Second, the prioritization of critical digital infrastructure as a central element of national security. Third, the integration of intelligence and cybersecurity to strengthen anticipation, deterrence, and response. Fourth, the structured collaboration between the public and private sectors to enhance systemic resilience. Finally, the explicit recognition of the geopolitical dimension of technology, including competition for data, standards, supply chains, and digital talent.

Chile does not need to replicate this model, but it must adapt its principles to its own scale and institutional context. The country has relevant structural advantages, including its position in the Asia-Pacific axis, its institutional stability, and digital openness, ranking tenth in the Digital Government Index of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as the development of digital infrastructure considered among the most advanced in the world, along with projects to build its own submarine cable to complement North Pacific routes. These conditions allow the country to project itself as a relevant node within the global digital architecture. Without a coherent national security strategy, these advantages may dissipate. Chile risks becoming a transit territory for data and infrastructure, rather than an actor capable of influencing its governance.

To avoid this scenario, Chile must adopt a strategic approach that recognizes critical digital infrastructure as a central component of national security and strengthens its participation in international digital governance forums. The current challenge is not primarily regulatory, but strategic. The integration of intelligence, cybersecurity, and critical digital infrastructure is essential to define a position in the emerging digital order.

The experience of the United States demonstrates that cybersecurity has become inseparable from state power. In this context, the key question for Chile is no longer how to protect systems, but how to exert influence and autonomy in the global digital environment. In the 21st century, sovereignty is increasingly built on control of critical digital infrastructure, data, and the capacity to make strategic decisions about both.

Kenneth Pugh