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A Path to Progress at the UN Cybersecurity Forum

Alexandra Paulus Opinions

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 …

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Strategies for Cyber Diplomacy Capacity Building

Patryk Pawlak Commentary

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 …

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Is War in Ukraine the End of Cyber Diplomacy?

Editors Opinions

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 …

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Unpacking Brazil’s Cyber Diplomacy

Louise Marie Hurel Commentary

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 …

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Tracking UN Voting Patterns on Cybercrime

Christian Dietrich Data Briefs

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 …

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German Cybersecurity Policy 2021-2025

Alexandra Paulus Commentary

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 …

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EU Cyber Sanctions and Cyber Norms

Sebastian Pantin Urdaneta Opinions

In the absence of clear international law on state-led or sponsored cyber activity, cyber norms are surrounded by ambiguity and different interpretations. Cyber sanctions are a relatively new tool the EU has to promote norms on appropriate state behaviour in cyberspace and clarify such ambiguity. However, the EU has to be careful in its application of cyber sanctions to avoid …

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Cybersecurity Convergence in the BRICS Countries

Luca Belli Commentary

The thirteenth BRICS Summit took place on 9 September 2021 and cybersecurity featured prominently amongst the priorities identified by BRICS leaders.  The BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – are explicitly advocating for enhanced cooperation on cybersecurity issues, both at the international and intra-BRICS level. The facility with which cooperation can be enhanced remains unclear, but BRICS priorities …

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Cyber Diplomacy in 2021: Mid-term Review

Eneken Tikk Commentary

The spring of 2021 brought two landmark international cybersecurity events: all UN member states lined up behind the final report of the Open-ended Working Group, and the UN GGE of 25 government experts was able to produce a consensus report. These breakthroughs mark the beginning of a more nuanced dialogue and an era in which, to break truly common ground …