UN: 27 Countries signed pledge to clean up the cyberspace

27 countries signed pledge to clean up the cyberspace that became the digital equivalent of the old Wild West, in a joint statement at the United Nations.

The draft resolution II on “Advancing responsible State behaviour in cyberspace in the context of international security” stands that: “State and non-state actors are using cyberspace increasingly as a platform for irresponsible behaviour from which to target critical infrastructure and our citizens, undermine democracies and international institutions and organizations, and undercut fair competition in our global economy by stealing ideas when they cannot create them.”, was affirmed by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In this document, the signatories say that “there must be consequences for bad behaviour in cyberspace.”, after calling the nations to act online in accordance with international laws reflecting the voluntary norms of responsible state behaviour in peacetime. The countries pledge to work together in order to hold accountable the states for digital illegal acts. Although no country was specifically named or shamed, this might be a reference to Russia, accused of interfering in elections in the US, Ukraine and France.

No specific countries were named and shamed in the statement; however, the digs about undermining democracies could be construed as a reference to Russia, which has been accused of meddling in elections in the US, the Ukraine, and France.

Although this might seem a big step, security experts say that there were not mentioned any terms to start, the negotiations continue and the “responsible state behaviour” concept has not been fully defined. Moreover, the experts observed that the document does not include the most cyber-capable countries: China, Iran and Russia, permanently involved in cyber-warfare.

Still, the signatories show that they are fed up with the lawless of cyberspace.

2.9 million dollars per minute is now the cost that the global economy unwillingly supports for the spiraling cybercrime and some of it is sponsored by states themselves.