A Quest for Order Amid Cyber Insecurity

Context: Better arrangements and intense partnerships with extra safeguards in a cyberspace domain are needed to promote cybersecurity.

Issues related to managing cyberspace:

• National controls: The Internet depends on physical infrastructure that is under national control, falls within jurisdictions of many states with differing approaches.
• Multiple stakeholders: Non-state actors play key roles along with state actors. Many networks are private, with objectives different from those of states. 
• Difficulty in verifications: Cybertools are dual-use, cheap and make attribution and verification of actions difficult.
• No international body: To monitor, assess, advise, and inform about the fulfilment of state commitments.
• No broad based discussion: Issues such as Internet governance, development, espionage, and digital privacy are not covered in the UN deliberations.  

Way Forward:

• Sharing the rules: For better arrangements and more intense partnerships with more safeguards is required among nations. 
• Domestic Laws: More clarity on the adoption of data protection legislation is needed.
• Shaping global cyber norms: Engagement in multi-stakeholder orientations such as the Paris Call is needed.

• Acceding to the Budapest Convention, or Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe can be considered. 

• Encouraging private sector: to get involved in industry-focused processes to strengthen cybersecurity.

• E.g.: Microsoft-initiated Cybersecurity Tech Accord and Siemens started the Charter of Trust. 

• Cyber literacy: Deeper public understanding of cyberspace’s various dimensions is also essential.