Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace

At the opening of the annual UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF), held in 2018 at UNESCO premises in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron launched the “Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace”, a high-level declaration on developing common principles for securing cyberspace. The Paris Call builds on the WSIS Tunis Agenda’s definition of the ‘respective roles’ of states and other stakeholders. It also resonates with the UN Group of Governmental Experts reaffirmation that international law applies to cyberspace. The declaration invites for support to victims both during peacetime and armed conflict, reaffirms Budapest Convention as the key tool for combating cybercrime, recognises the responsibility of private sector for products security, and calls for broad digital cooperation and capacity-building. It than invites signatories to, among other, prevent damaging general availability or integrity of the public core of the Internet, foreign intervention in electoral processes, ICT-enabled theft of intellectual property for competitive advantage, and non-state actors from ‘hacking-back’.

Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace outlines 9 key principles for trust and security in cyberspace that are relevant for both states and the private sector:

1. Assisting individuals and infrastructure to prevent and recover from malicious activities;
2. Protecting the public core of the Internet;
3. Defending electoral processes;
4. Preventing theft of intellectual property;
5. Preventing the proliferation of malicious software and practices;
6. Strengthening the security of digital processes, products, and services;
7. Advancing cyber hygiene;
8. Restraining from ‘hacking back’; and
9. Promoting acceptance and implementation of international norms of responsible behaviour.

Paris Call was signed by over dozens of countries and hundreds of businesses and organisations worldwide. The USA, Russia, and China, as well as some of the lead tech companies, are missing.