Cybersecurity, Cybercrime, and Cyberwarfare
The vulnerability of the internet is the vulnerability of modern society. However, security has mostly been an afterthought since the early days of the internet as many market-driven tech companies employed a ‘release now, patch later’ approach. The growing use of cyberspace by state and non-state actors for malicious purposes threatens peace and security, erodes trust in the digital economy and services, and affects the potential for the digital transformation of societies and economies. Security risks for citizens, companies, and countries are interrelated.
Apart from the work carried out by several intergovernmental organisations, NGOs are very active in the field of cybersecurity. The CyberPeace Institute researches malicious cyber operations that affect critical infrastructure and provides capacity development for NGOs to fend off cyberattacks. The ICT for Peace Foundation (ICT4Peace) promotes responsible behaviours by state actors and confidence-building measures for an open, secure, and peaceful cyberspace. The Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) implements projects dedicated to improving cybersecurity laws and policies, enhancing the capacity of cybersecurity actors, and formalising accountability in cybersecurity.
