Increasing International Cooperation in Cybersecurity and Adapting Cyber Norms

The rise of asymmetric warfare between countries has led to an increase in use of information and communications technology as a route for attacks, leading to an urgent necessity for an international code of cyber conduct. Nations must focus on cooperating in order to create a unified approach in mitigating cyber crime.
A common misconception is that cyber attacks come from state actors and attack states. However, many attacks come from individual, non-state actors and attack the private sector, considering that more businesses and corporations have transitioned to a fully digital business model. Cyberattacks are responsible for an estimated $300 billion annually to the global economy in repairs, and this number is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years.
Several measures are recommended to reverse the increasing cyber threats to the world. The first is that the United States and Russia, two of the most advanced cyber powers in the world, and thus it is crucial that they come together on an agreement for cyber security, as otherwise no progress can be made in the cyber realm. This will be difficult given the United States’ and Russia’s past, but is possible.
Another international route to increasing cyber security worldwide would be the UN. The UN, being a powerful, robust international body has the power to institutionalize cyber norms that would be widely accepted by every country. Thus, it is necessary that the UN convenes and creates a general, unified sense of guidelines for cyber security that nations around the world can follow.
Another recommendation for increasing cybersecurity worldwide is mandating that vulnerabilities and breaches be reported to governing bodies. In the past, this has only been recommended and encouraged, rather than mandated, by the UN. However, seeing as cyber warfare poses as much of a threat as nuclear, chemical, and other physical forms of warfare, it is necessary that all cyber vulnerabilities and breaches be reported to the state.
It is also encouraged that a global cybercrime convention be introduced. Currently, there is a convention called the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime that has been signed by 55 countries, but has not been signed by China or Russia. In order for a cyber regime to be effective, it must be signed by all major powers, so it is either necessary to get all major powers to sign the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, or create an alternative convention that all major powers agree with.
To achieve these recommendations, it is suggested that cyber law is internationalized, such as creating a court on cybersecurity policy, an international governing body, or a codified international cyber law.