The Internet Governance Lab joined over 650 signatories from across States, industry, and civil society on Monday in joining the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, the largest cybersecurity-focused, multi-stakeholder agreement in the world.
Launched by French President Emmanuel Macron at the 2018 UNESCO Internet Governance Forum in Paris, the Paris Call seeks to foster collaboration between States, the private sector, and civil society in protecting users’ rights and security online. In particular, the call outlines nine goals aimed at supporting an “open, secure, stable, accessible and peaceful cyberspace”:
Prevent and recover from malicious cyber activities that threaten or cause significant, indiscriminate or systemic harm to individuals and critical infrastructure.
Prevent activity that intentionally and substantially damages the general availability or integrity of the public core of the Internet.
Strengthen our capacity to prevent malign interference by foreign actors aimed at undermining electoral processes through malicious cyber activities.
Prevent ICT-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sector.
Develop ways to prevent the proliferation of malicious ICT tools and practices intended to cause harm.
Strengthen the security of digital processes, products and services, throughout their lifecycle and supply chain.
Support efforts to strengthen and advance cyber hygiene for all actors.
Take steps to prevent non-State actors, including the private sector, from hacking-back, for their own purposes or those of other non-State actors.
Promote the widespread acceptance and implementation of international norms of responsible behavior as well as confidence-building measures in cyberspace.
In a company blog post, Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote, “Today’s announcements came as part of the Paris Peace Forum, an event commemorating the centennial of the Armistice that brought an end to the First World War,” adding “As was the case a century ago, the nature of technology and warfare is changing. A century ago, governments and human institutions failed to adapt to the changing world. This century, we need to do better. With the help of clear principles, strong protection and a growing multistakeholder coalition, we can build on today’s milestones and continue to provide the world the strong cybersecurity it deserves.”