At the end of July, the Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) on ICTs -- which is currently discussing how states should and shouldn't behave in cyberspace - concluded its third meeting, which falls in the middle of its four-year mandate (ending in 2025). Below, we provide a summary of what happened, reflections on the outcomes and implications (the good and the bad), and some practical recommendations for stakeholders and governments to consider ahead of the next meeting. more
Cybersecurity and digitalization were not at the center of the recent summit meetings of the presidents and prime ministers of G7 (US, Canada, UK, Germany, Italy, France, Japan) and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). But cybersecurity and digitalisation are meanwhile too important issues to be ignored if world leaders meet. Insofar it was very natural that both the "XIV BRICS Summit Beijing Declaration" from June 23, 2022, and... more
To the annoyance of some, surely, the issue of abuse in the domain name system (DNS) has been high on the list of critical issues in internet governance circles. Personally, in my more than 20 years of internet governance experience, tackling DNS abuse is one of the more important issues I've participated in and seen debated. Despite this intense scrutiny, common-sense solutions (such as contract improvements) have been so far elusive, even as they fall squarely within its ICANN's remit. more
Foggy Bottom is the local affectionate name for the U.S. State Department -- because of its location near a former low-lying Potomac River lagoon in Washington DC. It recently announced the appointment of Nate Fick as the head of its "Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy," pending Congressional approval because it is wrapped up with ambassadorial status. The term "cyber" in this international diplomacy context has come to include all manner of electronic communication and information systems and services, i.e., ICT. more
The war in Ukraine, Metaverse and Splinternet were among the most discussed items during the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The topic of cyber security was primarily about the role of cyberattacks in the Ukraine war. Cyber is not the focus of day-to-day public war reporting but is an integral part of warfare on both sides. This applies above all to the use of "social media." more
On Monday May 23 2022 at 3 -- 5pm EEST (12:00 -- 14:00 UTC) the Finnish Internet Forum will convene a panel at the University of Helsinki with the topic 'Internet and War'. A panel of experts will address the question of how the war has affected the Internet and how the Internet has been used to influence Finland and elsewhere during the war. The event will be conducted in English. more
The approval on 13 May by the European Council and Parliament of a near-final draft Directive on European Cybersecurity (NIS2) brings the world's most far-reaching cyber regime closer to realization. What is generally unknown, however, is the broad scope and global extraterritorial jurisdiction reach of the Directive. It applies to almost every online service and network capability that exists as infrastructure or "offered" anywhere in Europe. more
Two recent celebrated cybersecurity standards history events brought together sets of people who were intimately involved with some of the most significant network security standards work ever undertaken. These included the X.509 digital certificate standards at ITU X.509 Day, and the Secure Digital Network System (SDNS) standards at the NSA Cryptologic History Symposium 2022. more
On May 12th, European legislators head into their final trilogue negotiations around the NIS2 Directive. This week, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition (i2Coalition) shared guidance found below with negotiators, focused on the Directive's Article 23. i2Coalition has been detailing our concerns about Article 23 before even their public consultation in March 2021. more
On April 28, 2022, a "Declaration on the Future of the Internet," initiated by the U.S. government, was signed by 60 governments at the White House in Washington, D.C. According to Jack Sullivan, National Security Advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden, the Declaration is intended to serve as a reference document for future international negotiations on Internet-related issues. Is there a reason why the U.S. government is launching an initiative on the "Future of the Internet" at this point in time? more
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