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Rule of Law in Cyberspace

Mika Kerttunen Opinions

As Montesquieu advocated, the rule of law and separation of powers are necessary to protect citizens and individuals from arbitrary rule by the state. Intensified measures to secure cyberspace risk leading to expert and political decisionmaking being kept outside of public and political debate and scrutiny. Deliberate separation of state cyber agencies and functions strengthens the rule of law, transparency …

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Ransomware: a Crisis in Need of a Global Response

Michael Daniel Opinions

Ransomware has become a lucrative money-making enterprise for criminals and a useful tool for some nations, with consequences for national security, economic prosperity, and public health and safety. Its global nature means that individual countries or organizations cannot successfully thwart this threat alone—it will require complex, sustained, joint, collaborative international action. A U.S. politician once said, “All politics is local.”  …

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Debunking Strategic Autonomy

Paul Timmers Opinions

Strategic autonomy continues to be “hot” in Brussels, Berlin and Paris. Not a week passes without a new policy proposal by the European Commission or a letter from a number of European Heads of State urging the strengthening of strategic autonomy and defence of sovereignty. As the thinking on strategic autonomy is evolving, it’s time to take a critical look …

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Digital Sovereignty Viewed from Asia

Farlina Said Opinions

The rapid pace of global digital transformation has led to new ideas concerning the relationships between economic growth, human development, human rights and national security. The mix of these policies has resulted in many forms of techno-nationalism. Which paradigm a country chooses as dominant may determine its priorities and the future. The US-led objections, based on national security concerns, to …

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India’s Vision for Cyber Diplomacy

Asoke Mukerji Opinions

India’s rapid integration into the Digital Economy has been driven by her financial and telecoms sector reforms. The growth of trade, manufacturing, services and investment sectors have generated a $3 trillion economy. The concerns over sustainability of this growth have turned India’s interest in a stable and secure international digital environment into a priority. International trade contributes 40% of India’s …

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Could Cyber-Diplomacy Learn From Outer Space?

Andre Barrinha Opinions

While the Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) consensus report on ICTs in the context of international security is perhaps a successful compromise, it brought limited novelty in terms of cyber norms. Fifty-five years ago, there was another “space” in need of international regulation as a consequence of technological innovation: outer space, which yielded concrete results in the form of the …

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Parliaments Under Cyberattack

Steve Honiss Opinions

Democratic institutions are under cyber siege. Parliaments and parliamentarians need to up their game if they are going to defend themselves. National leaders’ and decision-makers’ widespread reliance on Internet-connected digital technologies makes it critical that they use those tools responsibly and with care. It also means that those supporting leaders need to make it safe, secure and reliable for them …

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Cybercrime Negotiations: Affairs Beyond States

Joyce Hakmeh Opinions

Effectively fighting cybercrime requires cooperation between different communities and stakeholders. Governments enjoy a monopoly on power when it comes to law enforcement and criminal justice, but they need the involvement of the private sector and civil society organisations to make their policies work. With the launch of a new UN process addressing cybercrime around the corner, states cannot afford to …

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The ‘Invisible’ International Law in Cyberspace

Joanna Kulesza Opinions

Recent state contributions to the discussion of how international law applies in cyberspace suggest that the cybersecurity dialect of international law is losing sight of the mainstream – that is, how international law is applied outside of the cyber bubble. The fact that states contest certain rules and standards of international conduct when it suits their current interests and ambitions …

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EU Cybersecurity Strategy 2020: First Impressions

Patryk Pawlak Opinions

When it comes to digital and cyber policies, a message from Brussels this week is clear: nobody puts the EU in a corner. Faced with the growing competition and challenge to its way of doing business, Brussels is pushing back hard with concrete ideas to fight disinformation, to ensure greater independence from foreign digital giants and build a more cybersecure …