ASEAN countries to strengthen cybersecurity efforts

The Third ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity (AMCC) saw ASEAN countries agreeing that a formal ASEAN cybersecurity mechanism for cyber diplomacy, policy and operational issues should be established. It was recommended that the proposed mechanism also takes into account multiple dimensions, including economic considerations, and that it is flexible. Singapore has been tasked with the development of the proposal for the mechanism, which will then be tabled to ASEAN Leaders for consideration. ASEAN countries also decided to subscribe to the 11 voluntary, non-binding norms on behavior in cyberspace recommended in 2015 by United Nations Group of Governmental Experts on Developments in the Field of Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security (UNGGE), as well as to focus on regional capacity-building in implementing these norms.