OSCE Holds Conference “Cyber Security for Critical Infrastructure: Strengthening Confidence Building in the OSCE”
OSCE conference
Today, officials will meet in Vienna for the conference “Cyber Security for Critical Infrastructure: Strengthening Confidence Building in the OSCE”. The conference, organized by Austria’s 2017 OSCE Chairmanship, will shed light on the protection of critical infrastructure, a main concern for national security. The aim is to strengthen the implementation of OSCE confidence-building measures (CBMs) in order to reduce the risks of conflict that emerge from the use of information and telecommunication technologies (ICTs).
With the increasing ubiquity of cyber space, there is a growing demand for governments to critically examine ICT incidents involving critical infrastructure and the tensions that may arise between States as a result. It is therefore essential that effective protection against cyber and ICT security threats is established.
Special Issue of the Security and Human Rights journal (SHR) on Cyber Crime
The NHC’s recently published Special Issue of the Security and Human Rights journal (SHR), which published a series of articles on cyber crime, brought particular attention to these very issues. The issue featured an article from Sico van der Meer, a Research Fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, entitled “Enhancing international cyber security: a key role for diplomacy”. Van der Meer examines the ways in which cyber aggression is an increasing threat to international security and stability, and the confidence-building measures that can enhance interstate cooperation and subsequently reduce conflict.
The issue also features articles from Karen da Costa (“Preventism, disaster risk reduction and the consequences for human rights”), Monica den Boer (“Juggling the balance between preventive security and human rights in Europe”), and Liesbeth van der Heide and Jip Geenen (Preventing Terrorism in the Courtroom – The Criminalisation of Preparatory Acts of Terrorism in the Netherlands). Van der Heide works for the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), connected to the University of Leiden, which focuses on interdisciplinary research and education within the international scientific field of security studies. Geenen is Project Officer at ICCT for the Counter-Terrorism Strategic Communications project and supports the ICCT Communications team.
Interested in reading the Special Issue of the Security and Human Rights journal (SHR)? More information can be found here:
- http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/18750230/26/2-4
- https://www.shrmonitor.org/about/
The OSCE conference will discuss the potential ICT-related threats to critical infrastructure and their consequences, how public-private partnerships can deal with such threats, and the compatibility between preserving an open and secure cyber environment and the requirements of civil liberties and privacy in the internet. The opening session will be broadcast live on the OSCE website and Facebook page.
