‘A New Frontier’: Cyber Diplomacy And Its Impact On The Enterprise

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Dan Gunderman
Dan Gunderman
11/21/2017

In an interconnected world, the intersection of IT and cyber security with everyday life, governance and diplomacy is inevitable. The ripples of which also affect the daily workplace.

Many world powers are developing distinct cyber diplomacy policies as they attempt to mitigate threats and promote healthy cyber behavior. Still, attacks are worsening, affecting bottom lines, exposing sensitive data and coercing governments, agencies and private enterprises of all sizes.

So what is “cyber diplomacy” and how will it affect the prevailing mindset about cyber security? Will it effect change, and if so, how quickly? Perhaps more importantly, how will it affect the enterprise security professional?

The emergence of focused conferences on cyber security has created a sort of inroad for more collaboration. These conferences aim to increase cyber security awareness and promote best practices across the geopolitical spectrum.

Almost indirectly, then, and thanks to the “trickle-down” effect, these topics could steer the industry as a whole. Standards and regulations as applied worldwide could influence the way a CISO or security professional carries out their daily duties.

The Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS), an annual gathering of delegates and representatives, is a summit that allows attendees to discuss better ways to protect networks, shore up data and repel attacks.

In a world of consolidation and collaboration – which has come to be called globalism – borders no longer hold the same weight. This is especially true with regard to a cyber-attack, which could cripple public and private systems in Europe, Asia, North America, etc.

In other words, the scope of these attacks is vast, meaning the coordinated response must be just as forceful. This requires a certain codependence between nations, and awareness at the enterprise level.

See Related: War Games: The Fight For Top Cyber Security Talent Goes Global

The GCCS is being held in India for the first time, as the nation attempts to stress the importance of cyber discourse. Speaking ahead of the conference, Ravi Shankar Prasad, union minister for electronics and IT for India, touched upon ways to create better understanding between countries, including acknowledging the power of cyber security.

The conference is being held from Nov. 23-24 in New Delhi. According to The Economic Times, it will feature 2,000 people, including 700 delegates. Officials charged with IT and cyber security initiatives from countries like France, Russia, Israel and the United Kingdom will be in attendance.

The conference began in 2011 in London, followed by appearances in Budapest, Seoul and The Hague, Netherlands.

State Of Cyber ‘Diplomacy’

In a lecture at Cornell University on Nov. 15, Christopher Painter, former coordinator for cyber issues at the U.S. Department of State, discussed wide-ranging cyber security issues – and underscored the value of cyber diplomacy.

According to the school's publication, he said the combination of diplomacy, a “well-oiled and honed discipline,” and information technology, a fledgling industry, is ripe with potential for economic and social exchange. Yet he also spoke about the possibility for malicious activity. This of course, leaves enterprises particularly vulnerable.

Cyber security, he said, is a highly technical issue with economic, social, political and legal “dimensions.” To hone it, it requires collaboration across disciplines, professions and ideologies.

For CISOs, the more dialogue and deliberation, the more defense strategies can be enhanced across the board. Awareness of these global trends at the enterprise level keeps practitioners apprised of the latest goings-on. Remaining informed is exceedingly important amid mega-breaches – as teamwork can and does exist between enterprise professionals and law enforcement, as laid out by the policy community.

See Related: U.S. Businesses Struggling To Grasp Demands Of GDPR

To Painter, a possible solution to the larger ambiguity of cyber security is: building a “bridge” between the policy and technical communities.

A part of cyber diplomacy, he said, is also preparing for widespread – and damaging – infrastructure attacks, along with distributed denial of service (DDoS) threats, which could disable websites thanks to a horde of connected devices.

Also assessing the growing cyber diplomacy platform, Supervisory Special Agent to the FBI, Nickolas Savage, told CSHub, “It boils down to normalization. I applaud the fact of having these conversations. I think the more we do this, the better it is.”

He continued, “When it comes to laws, and policies, we’re kind of like, as a planet, all over the place. I see these events (like GCCS) as good. (But) it boils down to normalization. It’s getting better, but we have a long way to go. I really think we’re just on the cusp of this new frontier, even though we’ve been dealing with these issues for decades…We haven’t even begun to address (some of) this stuff. It’s fascinating, certainly.”


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