The article investigates the evolutionary development of the information space and traces the historical stages of growth of information security problems. This distribution is based on the technological evolution of the types of media, which allowed to divide it into several periods. The first period is associated with the invention of writing and the advent of encryption and concealment. The second period is characterized by the emergence of the first technical means of information processing and the ability to store and transmit messages using media such as electrical signals and electromagnetic fields. The third period is determined by the introduction of automated information processing systems and is measured by a period of more than 40 years. The role of the information sphere in modern conditions is substantiated, it is established that the information turns into a national political and strategic resource of the states and acts as a criterion of maturity and development of the political system. The urgency of defining cybersecurity as one of the main components of the security policy of the Ukrainian state is emphasized.