The obvious importance of cyber defence – often the poor cousin of all things cyber – is becoming clearer and more entrenched, with growing high-level EU ambitions. The recent release of the EU cyber defence policy in late 2022 marks a milestone for the EU’s cyber defence policy framework insofar as its ambitions indicate the aspirational direction of travel for …
A Cybersecurity Strategy for the 21st Century
The Biden Administration’s ambitious new National Cybersecurity Strategy will significantly improve cyber defence. Written for cyberspace as it exists and operates now, it abandons the previous emphasis on deterrence, which has not worked, and focuses on resilience and regulation. It also shifts important security responsibilities to developers and providers of IT services and products, and creates new opportunities for close …
Striking the Right Balance: A Commentary on the Fourth Substantive Session of the OEWG on ICTs
The recent meeting of the OEWG on ICTs in New York was held amidst a climate of significant global cyber threats and geopolitical tensions. The meeting was successful in terms of attracting a high number of new proposals and broad participation from member states, which is particularly valuable in the current climate of multilateral uncertainty. However, the OEWG faces the …
Disrupting Ransomware
Governments around the world are making significant progress in disrupting and deterring cyber criminals from launching ransomware schemes, but far more is needed to properly address this evolving problem. It’s been nearly a decade since the United States Department of Justice indicted notorious Russian cyber criminal Evgeniy Bogachev for masterminding the notorious GameOverZeus malware scheme. By conservative estimates, Bogachev’s Business …
Governance of Disruptive Technologies for International Peace and Security: Maturing Yet Nascent Military AI-cyber Policy Has Far to Go
There is not yet a comprehensive understanding of the future implications of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDTs) like AI in civilian, military and intelligence applications. The precise nature of opportunities and risks relating to EDTs continues to be unpacked, and relevant national and international policies for international peace and security are still maturing. Like the first cyber strategies introduced globally …
Ukraine Cyber War One Year On: An International Law Case Study
Russia committed a grave violation of international law when it invaded Ukraine one year ago. Russia and Ukraine are at war, but are they also at cyber war? We have seamlessly passed the much-debated Article 51 UNC threshold and moved into a cyber warzone, where shelling of Ukrainian towns and villages is accompanied by cyberattacks on its allies’ critical infrastructure. …
International Cooperation and Cybersecurity in Africa
International cooperation efforts have increasingly focused on cybersecurity in Africa. Despite the diversity of these initiatives, Africa has yet to prioritise cybersecurity. Without coordination and accountability, divergent cybersecurity visions and models may instead derail Africa’s cybersecurity development. Africa, cooperation and cybersecurity In March 2022, the First African Cybersecurity Summit was held in Lomé, Togo. A core purpose of the Summit …
How China Promotes Cyber Sovereignty
China is a cyber norm entrepreneur, seeking a greater say in creating a global cyber order in line with its rise as a cyber power. China promotes ‘cyber sovereignty’ (wangluo zhuquan), which extends territorial sovereignty into human-created cyberspace as part of a ‘cyberspace shared future’. Financial incentives through ‘Digital Silk Road’ capacity building and coalition building in international institutions are …
Towards a data-driven EU Cyber Diplomacy
The EU and its member-states lack quantifiable data on cyber conflict that can guide EU Cyber diplomacy. But data is necessary to answer even basic questions like, whether cyber conflict is getting better or worse and does the EU cyber posture have the desired effect in reducing cyber operations or their damaging effects. A new European research project, the European …
Taiwan, China and Semiconductors
Rising tensions surrounding Taiwan in the wake of Nancy Pelosi’s visit have illuminated the island’s critical role in the global economy, thanks to its singular place in the semiconductor supply chain. Yet rather than increasing Beijing’s incentives to pull the trigger on an invasion of Taiwan, the global importance of TSMC and other Taiwanese semiconductor companies discourages it. Taiwan’s position …