Stakeholder Engagement in Cyber Policy Webinar

To enhance safety and security in cyberspace for social and economic prosperity there is an urgent need to reinforce the importance of inclusive cyber policy making - in a way that stakeholders from all domains (government, private and public sectors, and civil society) can contribute to policymaking. Thus ensuring the views of those that are affected, and those who are responsible for solutions, are not side-lined by securitised and threat-driven narratives or neglected because of a narrow understanding of top-down policymaking.

Recent efforts have been made to increase involvement of stakeholders in cyber policy making processes by Global Partners Digital (GPD), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC) of University of Oxford. One example is GPD’s Guide for Policymakers on Involving Stakeholders in National Cybersecurity Strategies (NCS), designed for policymakers developing, implementing and reviewing a NCS with active and ongoing involvement of relevant stakeholders. Other examples are the national cybersecurity assessments based on GCSCC’s Cybersecurity Capacity Maturity Model for Nations (CMM) which gather data through multi-stakeholder processes and engagement, undertaken by the GCSCC and its regional partners, including the OAS, World Bank, and ITU.

Experience from countries that have developed their NCS in an inclusive way (e.g. Ghana, Sierra Leone, Belize) has shown that stakeholder views are better represented, and their buy-in increased when implementing the strategy to produce a more sustainable, effective and robust response to cyber threats. To bring maximum value, it is important that stakeholder engagement is holistic and systematic.

In addition to existing challenges, the social distancing and travel restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the established processes of engagement. Many activities have either moved online or have been postponed or halted. Consequently, building effective relationships and trust needs continuous reinforcement. Practical obstacles such as connectivity and technical affordability are new risks to the involvement of all stakeholders.

This webinar was hosted by the capcity center in partnership with GPD, OAS, MITRE and the C3SA. It brought together actors from government, regional organisations, academia and civil society to share their experience of engaging with stakeholders in cyber policy making and its value. In particular, the panelists discussed the challenges and provided ideas for alternative solutions for engagement to inform integrative policy making now and in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Speakers:

Kerry-Ann Barrett, Organization of American States (OAS)(CICTE Cybersecurity Program)
Geraldine Mugumya, National Information & Technology Authority - Uganda (NITA-U)
Nthabiseng Pule, Cybersecurity Capacity Centre for Southern Africa (C3SA)
Daniela Schnidrig, Global Partners Digital (GPD)
Cynthia Wright, MITRE Corporation

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The weakest link? Digital technology and Cyber Security capacity building in Developing Countries

The world gets more interconnected, and the dependency of cyberspace and its infrastructure is now evident in most sectors. As the cyber domain is only as strong as the weakest link – there is a need for building security standards across countries to minimize threats.

Cyber threats and risks are particularly challenging for developing countries and nations affected by conflict and fragility. Therefore, there is a need for specific efforts toward those countries, as they are developing digital and physical infrastructures while being characterized by weak institutions, poor governance mechanisms, and limited resources.More info to come.

The webinar is part of the research project C3SA, and is connected to NUPI's Centre for Cyber Security Studies.

Speakers bio:

Chris Painter is a globally recognized leader and expert on cybersecurity and cyber policy, Cyber Diplomacy and combatting cybercrime. He has been on the vanguard of U.S. and international cyber issues for over twenty five years—first as a prosecutor of some of the most high-profile cybercrime cases in the country and then as a senior official at the Department of Justice, FBI, the National Security Council and finally the State Department. He has initiated, helped drive, or advised on virtually every major U.S. cyber policy for over a decade and has created innovative new organizations and approaches to deal with threats and take advantage of opportunities in cyberspace.

Carolin Weisser Harris is the Lead International Operations at the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC), based at the Department of Computer Science. In this role, she is responsible for stakeholder engagement and the deployment of the centre’s flagship Cybersecurity Capacity Maturity Model for Nations (CMM). She has co-authored a number of CMM reviews in Africa, Asia and Europe and contributed to best practice guides and diverse research outputs in the field of cybersecurity capacity-building.

Dr. Andrea Calderaro is the director of the Centre for Internet and Global Politics, a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the Department of Politics and International Relations/School of Law and Politics, and a member of the Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Analytics at Cardiff University. He holds his PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute. His research and teaching centers on the Internet and International Affairs, with a particular focus on transnational governance of the cyber domain, cybersecurity, cyber capacity building, cyber diplomacy, the Digital divide, and the role of the EU in the global internet policy debate.

Patryk Pawlak is the EUISS Brussels Executive Officer. In this capacity, he maintains and develops relations with other Brussels-based institutions. In addition, he is in charge of the cyber portfolio, leading the Institute’s cyber-related projects and contributing to its outreach activities. Since June 2016, he is a member of the Advisory Board of the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise. His work on cyber-related issues and the European Union’s security policies more broadly has appeared in several peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes.

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