Cyberattack Revelations Appear to Undercut Russia's UN Efforts

cybersecurityintelligence.com

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Excerpt:

The recent revelations about the cyberattacks conducted by Russian military intelligence (GRU) in several countries did not come as a surprise. The UK and its allies have been calling for public attribution of cyberattacks coupled with, when appropriate, a series of diplomatic and economic responses, and even retaliation-in-kind.

The thinking behind this is that attribution, coupled with sanctions initiated by a united front of like-minded states, could create a deterring effect.

However, these revelations also play into wrangling over cyber regulation at the UN level. Russia is planning to submit two UN resolutions later this month, one on a code of conduct to regulate states behaviour in cyberspace and one on a new UN cybercrime convention. ...

In 2015, after the UN established a Group of Governmental Experts (UN GGE) on the security of information and communication technologies, a consensus was reached by participating countries, including Russia. It affirmed that international law applies to cyberspace and recommending norms and principles for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.

However, in 2017, when the UN GGE tried to take the process a step further and discuss the application of international law to cyber conflicts, it was faced with a deadlock. Some countries, including Russia and China, opposed the mention of international humanitarian law, the law of self-defence and the right of states to take countermeasures. They claimed this would lead to the militarization of cyberspace.

Since then, little has been achieved in public diplomacy [JB emphasis] terms to bring the two sides together. Instead, Russia has been trying to rally endorsement for its proposals from other countries – notably those in the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS. ...