Dr. Serge Droz and Dr. Daniel Stauffacher of ICT4Peace were invited to participate in a panel discussion on 20 November 2018, organised and moderated by Quendresa Hoxha of the Swiss Foreign Ministry and Sara Pengrazzi of foraus at the Swiss Internet Governance Forum. The title of the panel discussion was entitled: Cybersecurity – a state or private responsibility? The program can be found here. Martin Dion (Kudelski Security) and Solange Ghernaouti (University of Lausanne) also participated.

Inter alia, the following questions were discussed: Who is responsible for ensuring that cyberspace is safe and used for peaceful purposes? What set of rules for responsible behaviour in cyberspace exists at the international level and what does Switzerland contribute to it? How can the existing international recommendations for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace be implemented and what role does Switzerland (society, businesses and the world of politics) play? How do the state, the private sector, civil society and science see their respective roles and responsibilities for security in cyberspace? Are only states “obliged” to behave responsibly in cyberspace? What initiatives have been launched by the private sector and civil society to promote responsible behaviour in cyberspace? How successful are these? Are Swiss businesses involved and how do they position themselves? Is the state sufficiently open to cooperation with the private sector? How can civil society and science play a greater and more targeted role in the promotion of civil control over national policies and strategies in the area of cybersecurity?

As an introduction Dr. Daniel Stauffacher presented the ICT4Peace Matrix of national and international cybersecurity measures here and here.

Since 2007 ICT4Peace promotes cybersecurity and a peaceful cyberspace through inter alia international negotiations with governments, companies and non-state actors. More information on ICT4Peace work on Cybersecurity and Peaceful Cyberspace can be found here. A description of ICT4Peace’s Capacity Building Program and a list of selected ICT4Peace publications can be found here.