IGF 2022 WS #253 Towards Cyber Development Goals: Implementing Global Norms

Description

By today, cyberspace has become an intrinsic part of the development of every country, creating enormous opportunities and enabling everything from distance learning to innovation and social and economic growth. Secure, trusted, and inclusive digital infrastructure is the backbone of today’s economic and social development. With just over half of the world’s population connected to the Internet, closing the digital divide is essential to reducing inequalities and socioeconomic gaps between those with access to digital services and those without. However, with rapid digitalization come collateral risks, including in low- and middle-income countries that may lack adequate cyber resilience against constantly evolving digital threats. Growing vulnerabilities and disproportionate cyber hygiene across sectors and geographies often fall short in tackling the frequency and intensity of cyberattacks, making it a global challenge. This tension between the need for digital transformation versus the lack of a strong cybersecurity posture can be considered a risk toward achieving the SDGs and a threat to achieving safe, secure, and rights respecting online environment. While doing more to increase the resilience of digital infrastructure is necessary, it is not sufficient to break the growing trend and decrease the cyber threats that business and society are facing. Thankfully, there is ample ground to build on. Most states and international organisations have affirmed that existing international law, and especially the UN Charter in its entirety, applies to the use of ICTs by states. States have also agreed on norms for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. Translating existing agreements into feasible actions that halt the growing trend of cyberthreats on businesses, communities and governments worldwide is long overdue. Furthermore, to empower and protect societies from increased cybersecurity risks associated with digital transformation, the international community should explore practical ways to mainstream cybersecurity capacity building (CCB) into broader digital development efforts. This is also essential for building resilient societies and promoting a whole-of-society approach to dealing with threats emanating from cyberspace. Mainstreaming cybersecurity into digital development will leverage its resilience mechanisms, supporting a safe digital transformation and thus a better and more sustainable future for all. In this context, the International Chamber of Commerce convenes this session to discuss a global multistakeholder process to agree and adopt Cybersecurity Development Goals (CDGs). Perceived as a set of aspirational and feasible goals, the CDGs aim to rally the international community to collaborate in closing digital divides, bolster resilience by fostering access to digital transformation, and enable the implementation of international law and norms to curtail malicious cyber activities. CDGs would contribute to mainstreaming cybersecurity into the development agenda by defining a set of global benchmarks and practical activities to support countries in implementing and complying with universally endorsed UN norms for responsible state behavior in cyberspace. CDGs would also provide a catalyzing function to mobilize the global multistakeholder community around achieving concrete and shared goals as well as facilitate coordination and integration of cybersecurity capacity building with existing development programs. CDGs would help define the necessary technical, legal and policy elements and capacities needed for national level implementation, whilst inspiring collective action globally. This unique bottom-up approach would bring clarity and accountability to what remains to be built to implement existing international law and norms that protect and allow all states to harness their full cyber potential in a safe and measurable way. This workshop will present the proposed concept of the CDGs and gather perspectives from all stakeholders on what such a list of goals should include, and what the process of developing them should look like. This session thus aims to kick-start a continuous dialogue and stimulate collaborative input from the international multistakeholder community.

About the speakers

• Ms Kaja Ciglic, Senior Director, Digital Diplomacy at Microsoft;
• Mr David Fairchild, First Secretary (Digital Policy and Cyber Security Affairs) at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN in Geneva;
• Ms Grace Githaiga, CEO and Convenor at KICTANet;
• Ms Jaqueline Pateguana, Clearing House Coordinator at the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise;
• Mr Rene Summer, Director of Government and Industry Relations at Ericsson Group;