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 …
Top 5 Cyber Policy Articles to Read For 2023
The past year has been a busy one for cyber and digital diplomacy. Discussions by the UN Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime and the UN Open-ended Working Group on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace have advanced global debate on these issues and have included much more participation from the Global South. However, decisions about the participation of non-governmental stakeholders left …
Multi-stakeholder Governance of Cyberspace – Merely a Myth?
Blocking non-state stakeholders’ participation in discussions about the information and communication technology environment may set a dangerous precedent for the future
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 …
A Path to Progress at the UN Cybersecurity Forum
Cybersecurity is a matter of international security. Recent incidents with implications for international security include ransomware operations conducted by groups with ties to a foreign government military intelligence service against Costa Rican government services and operations against the communication services used by the Ukrainian military conducted by Russian cyber threat actors. These developments make cyber diplomacy more relevant, but also …
Strategies for Cyber Diplomacy Capacity Building
Strengthening global capacities to address the challenges in the field of cyber diplomacy has lately attracted the attention of the cyber capacity building community. Even though the scope and size of such projects remains underreported, the number of institutions and organisations funding, implementing and receiving support for such projects is growing. But how can we ensure that the burgeoning field …
Is War in Ukraine the End of Cyber Diplomacy?
The war in Ukraine has so far seen very little engagement from the cyber diplomatic community. While the international community focuses on stopping Russia’s invasion and ending the conflict, the contribution of cyber diplomacy to these efforts has been limited to the usual offers of assistance to deal with cyber incidents. This is surprising, given the number of cyber diplomacy-related …
Unpacking Brazil’s Cyber Diplomacy
Brazil’s diplomacy has historically been one of soft power and brokering discussions. In Internet governance, the country has been internationally recognised for to its multi-stakeholder governance model and for advocating for privacy in the digital age. As cyber threats become a national security concern and a key part of the political agenda in the run-up to 2022 presidential elections, the …
Tracking UN Voting Patterns on Cybercrime
The establishment of the UN Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes was the result of a highly politicised approach by certain countries regarding international cooperation to fight cybercrime. Even though the Ad Hoc Committee has not even started working on substance, the disagreements over the …
German Cybersecurity Policy 2021-2025
The new German government will mean a shift for the country’s cybersecurity policy. The joint coalition agreement of the three ruling parties lays out their plans for the next four years and signals changes of course in areas like encryption policy and “hackbacks”. In other fields – particularly cyber diplomacy – the devil will be in the details. The country’s …