Confidence Building Measures and International Cybersecurity

The meeting in Zurich took place at an important moment. Recent events have shown that much remains to be done to ensure and strengthen confidence between states and society around the different uses of cyberspace. Meanwhile, mistrust between states regarding the use of cyberspace continues to rise, not least due to the increasing sophistication of cyber probes and attacks and a palpable race to enhance offensive as well as defensive capabilities.

The objective of confidence and transparency building measures in recent history and in relation to conventional threats has been to prevent outbreak of war and escalation in a crisis; increase trust so as to avoid escalation; enhance early warning and predictability; and modify and transform or improve relations between states. There is general agreement that CBMs for responding to international cybersecurity issues are useful and necessary, that they are timely and that they should be a priority area for the international community. CBMs are the type of measures that need to be in place to avoid potential misunderstanding and escalation when relations among states with regard to cyber/ICT security worsen, serving as a form of pressure valve.

Source – ICT4Peace website