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Dispute along cold war lines led to collapse of UN cyberwarfare talks
Source: The Guardian
Dispute along cold war lines led to collapse of UN cyberwarfare talks
Thirteen years of negotiations came to an abrupt end in June, it has emerged, because of a row over the right to self-defence in the face of attacks
Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent
Wednesday 23 August 2017 06.00 BST
Thirteen years of negotiations at the United Nations aimed at restricting cyberwarfare collapsed in June, it has emerged, due to an acrimonious dispute that pitted Russia, China and Cuba against western countries.
The split among legal and military experts at the UN, along old cold war lines, has reinforced distrust at a time of mounting diplomatic tension over cyber-attacks, such as the 2016 hacking of the US Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) computers. That break-in was allegedly coordinated by Russian intelligence and intended to assist Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Negotiations aimed at forging an international legal framework governing cybersecurity began in 2004. Experts from 25 countries, including the UK and all the other members of the UN security council, participated in the discussions.
But in June, diplomats at the UN abandoned any hope of making further progress, amid a row centred on the right to self-defence in the face of cyber-attacks.
-snip-
The Cuban representative, Miguel Rodríguez, told the final meeting of negotiators that recognising self-defence rights in cyberspace would lead to militarisation of cyberspace and “legitimise … unilateral punitive force actions, including the application of sanctions and even military action by states claiming to be victims” of hacking attacks.
-snip-
Thirteen years of negotiations came to an abrupt end in June, it has emerged, because of a row over the right to self-defence in the face of attacks
Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent
Wednesday 23 August 2017 06.00 BST
Thirteen years of negotiations at the United Nations aimed at restricting cyberwarfare collapsed in June, it has emerged, due to an acrimonious dispute that pitted Russia, China and Cuba against western countries.
The split among legal and military experts at the UN, along old cold war lines, has reinforced distrust at a time of mounting diplomatic tension over cyber-attacks, such as the 2016 hacking of the US Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) computers. That break-in was allegedly coordinated by Russian intelligence and intended to assist Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Negotiations aimed at forging an international legal framework governing cybersecurity began in 2004. Experts from 25 countries, including the UK and all the other members of the UN security council, participated in the discussions.
But in June, diplomats at the UN abandoned any hope of making further progress, amid a row centred on the right to self-defence in the face of cyber-attacks.
-snip-
The Cuban representative, Miguel Rodríguez, told the final meeting of negotiators that recognising self-defence rights in cyberspace would lead to militarisation of cyberspace and “legitimise … unilateral punitive force actions, including the application of sanctions and even military action by states claiming to be victims” of hacking attacks.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/23/un-cyberwarfare-negotiations-collapsed-in-june-it-emerges
