Final answer:
The Cold War drove technological competition, which led to the Department of Defense creating ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, to ensure secure communication.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Cold War is directly related to the development of the Internet through the competition for technological superiority between the superpowers, namely the United States and the Soviet Union. This rivalry precipitated advancements in a variety of scientific fields, including computer technology. The United States sought to utilize computers for information sharing, which was highly important for the Department of Defense during the Cold War. This led to the creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), which later evolved into the foundation of today's Internet. It was directly a result of the need for secure communication in the face of a potential nuclear threat.