ICT for Peace Foundation

Network security, cyberconflict, and warfare

An open, secure, stable, accessible, and peaceful ICT environment is essential for all and requires effective cooperation among states, civil society, and the private sector to reduce risks to international peace and security and ensure economic and social development. There are, however, very disturbing trends in the global ICT environment, including a dramatic increase in incidents involving the malicious use of ICTs by state and non-state actors, such as criminals and terrorists. These trends create enormous risks to peace and security in cyberspace for states, but equally to human security and dignity.

In 2011, ICT4Peace called for a code of conduct and norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence-building measures for open, secure, and peaceful cyberspace, and encouraged all stakeholders to work together to identify new cyber threats and develop solutions and agreements at national and global levels. In particular, it advocated against the increasing militarisation of cyberspace. ICT4Peace supported international negotiations at the UN Governmental Group of Experts (UN GGE) and the Open-Ended Working Groups (OEWG I and II) in New York, as well as at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the African Union (AU) with policy recommendations and multiple publications and workshops. In 2014, ICT4Peace launched its capacity-building programmes and in 2020 created the ICT4Peace Academy, in particular for policymakers and diplomats from developing and emerging economies to enable them to develop and implement their national cybersecurity strategies, build computer emergency response teams (CERTS) and meaningfully engage in the UN GGE and the OEWG I 2019–2021 and OEWG II 2021– 2025, but also in bilateral and regional negotiations.

In 2019, at OEWG I in New York, ICT4Peace issued a call to governments to publicly commit not to attack civilian critical infrastructure and proposed a state cyber peer review mechanism for state-conducted foreign cyber operations. See also all ICT4Peace inputs to and comments on OEWG I and the ICT4Peace Submission to OEWG II 2021–2025.

ICT4Peace has highlighted emerging concerns and suggested governance solutions in the fields of AI, lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), and peacetime threats.

Since 2019, ICT4Peace has been advocating for a peer-review mechanism on accountability for more than five years, inspired by the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process. The organisation is currently engaged in discussions about establishing a permanent mechanism for addressing global cybersecurity challenges.

In 2024, ICT4Peace launched a groundbreaking toolkit titled ‘From Boots on the Ground to Bytes in Cyberspace’, providing comprehensive guidance on the use of technologies by Private Security Companies (PSCs). The toolkit addresses human rights challenges posed by emerging technologies in the private security sector, covering topics including responsible data practices, surveillance ethics, algorithmic bias, and emerging technologies.

ICT4Peace has also expanded its work to address quantum computing as an emerging threat to cybersecurity. In 2024, it published ‘Navigating the Quantum Wave: A Policy Maker’s Guide for the Responsible Governance of Quantum Technologies’, advocating for quantum-resistant cryptography and global ICT infrastructure upgrades.