ICT4Peace’s Daniel Stauffacher was invited by the Department of Arms Control and Disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, P.R. China to chair a panel at the Senior-level International Workshop on Information and Cyber Security, co-organized between China and the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, and the and UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, New York Beijing 5 – 6 June 2014.
The following countries participated in the workshop: Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uzbekistan.
In an open and frank manner, the workshop discussions built on the ongoing work of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Cyber Security 1) in New York, and included a lively debate of burning issues, such as establishing norms of responsible state behavior in the cyberspace (e.g. in view of possible attacks on critical infrastructure, violation of data protection rights, freedom of information) and the urgent need for Confidence Building Measures (CBM) for the Cyberspace among states. In this context the ongoing regional activities, e.g. at OSCE and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), but also in Africa and Latin America were discussed.
In addition, capacity-building measures, that are needed to enable all regions of the world, and especially less developed countries to build capacities for better cyber security and participate in the emerging global negotiations were called for. In this regard the newly launched ICT4Peace Training Programme for government officials, private sector and civil society representatives on “International Cybersecurity Negotiations“ was announced.
Daniel Stauffacher’s panel focussed on Building Regional Dialogue, Cooperation and Capacity and covered inter alia the following topics: The cyberspace has witnessed energetic efforts from regional exchanges and cooperation. What progress has been made at the regional level? Which areas are calling for our additional attention? What is the relationship between regional efforts and international processes ? How to coordinate them ?
The panelists were:
Ms. Shariffa Rashidah SYED OTHMAN, Principal Assistant Secretary, Cyber and Space Security Division, National Security Council, Prime Minister’s Department of Malaysia
Ms. Jooyeon Ellen KANG, Deputy Director of International Security Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea
Mr. Du Yuejin, Director, National Institute of Network and Information Security, China
Ambassador Jan Biggs, Assistant Secretary, International Security Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia
Ms. Olivia Preston, Assistant Director, International Relations Office for Cyber Security and Information Assurance, Cabinet Office, UK.
1) Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security (A/68/98*).
Some photos from the event can be seen below, or here.
For additional information regarding the work of the ICT4Peace Foundation in the field of Rights and Security in the Cyberspace please refer to the following recent publications:
2013
- ICT4Peace Seoul Statement on Cybersecurity
- The Reach of Soft Power in Responding to International Cybersecurity Challenges
- ICT4Peace Global Dialogue on Confidence Building Measures and International Cyber Security
- The dramatic rise of cyber-attacks: What are Governments doing about it?
- What Next? Building Confidence Measures for the Cyberspace
- Confidence Building in Cyberspace: Constructive work by UN experts
- ‘Jaw Jaw’ is better than ‘War War’: International Security in Cyberspace
- Cyber Security takes the UN floor
2014