Confidence building measures to enhance cybersecurity in focus at OSCE meeting in Vienna

VIENNA, 7 November 2014 – Cyber-security experts and representatives of the private sector, think-tanks and academia are meeting in Vienna today to discuss the implementation so far of a ground-breaking set of Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) agreed by OSCE participating States last year on reducing the risk of conflict stemming from the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), while exploring how the development of additional CBMs could be boosted.

The event, organized by the 2014 Swiss OSCE Chairmanship, aims to support the activities of the Informal Working Group, which developed and implements the eleven CBMs agreed in 2013 as well as negotiates the development of a second set of CBMs.

The CBMs are practical, risk-reduction measures designed to enhance transparency and reduce misperception and escalation between states. They include provisions for communication- and information-sharing at the government- and expert-level and for the use of the OSCE as a platform for exchanging best practices, with the aim of increasing inter-state co-operation and stability.

“Cyberspace constitutes an area with much room for speculation, doubt, and ambiguity. The use of ICTs for malicious purposes is not directly visible and it is even less tangible,” said Ambassador Benno Laggner, Head of the Division for Security Policy, Directorate of Political Affairs at the Swiss Foreign Ministry. “Therefore, confidence-building measures designed to increase transparency and trust are crucial in order to reduce the danger of miscalculation, misperception and misunderstanding.”

During the discussions, participants will also review cyber-security efforts at the sub-regional level and within other regional contexts. Non-governmental stakeholders, such as providers of critical infrastructure, will have the opportunity to express their needs and expectations in relation to the OSCE CBM process.

Alexey Lyzhenkov, OSCE Co-ordinator of Activities to Address Transnational Threats, said: “While the CBMs are primarily designed for national policy-makers, their effective implementation requires the constructive engagement with non-state stakeholders. For instance, the protection of critical infrastructure from cyber-attacks is not only in the interest of a critical infrastructure operator, it is also a prime national security concern.”

The OSCE, over the decades, has amassed a wealth of experience in developing and adapting CBMs to all areas of its work. Discussions on the CBMs in the area of cyber/ICT security within the Informal Working Group chaired by the United States and supported by the OSCE Secretariat, have been ongoing since April 2012.

Ambassador Daniel Baer, U.S. Permanent Representative to the OSCE, and Chair of the Informal Working Group, said: “This year, the Informal Working Group has also taken steps to advance the OSCE’s role in the field of cybersecurity by embarking on the development of a second set of CBMs that can build confidence in the ability of states to collaborate in dealing with specific, discrete instances of destabilizing cyber activity. As IWG Chair, we stand ready to support this endeavour.”