Упрощенная HTML-версия
Author : Yu. Tomilova
Attaché, Department for New Challenges and Threats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian
Federation
THE INTERNATIONAL CYBER SECURITY
problem has long been one of the top items on in-
ternational agendas, largely because of the rapidly
growing effects of information technology (IT) on
global social and political affairs. IT is not just be-
coming a means of raising living standards and
overcoming social inequalities but is increasingly
seen both by state and non-state actors as a strategic
resource, a means of attaining political, military and
other goals.
RUSSIA has consistently addressed the international cyber security issue from three angles, those
of military-political, terrorist and criminal threats.
A special danger is the ability of IT to mimic real attacks, for example terrorism, by means such
as hacking. The 2010 attack on Iranian nuclear facilities is a case in point.
The United States and its allies persistently assert that military conflicts in cyberspace are in-
evitable and insist on creating a regulatory framework for them. Today, many countries experi-
mentally design offensive cyber potentials.
RUSSIA cannot accept the thesis that political conflicts in cyber space are inevitable. It does
admit that there is a serious threat of such conflicts, but it consistently advocates the creation
of international rules under which nations would have to pledge not to use, or threaten to use,
force to resolve international disputes in cyber space.
Cyber security threats are a problem for the entire international community, and Russia believes
that global cooperation and debates on this issue in key international and regional formats are
highly important for fending off these threats.
The draft resolution, among other things, represented the first ever initiative to standardize ter-
minology on cyber security in order to preclude different interpretations of the same or similar
notions by different countries.
The United States and its allies have embarked on an alarming policy by claiming a right to use
force if a cyber conflict breaks out. This means an open and official militarization of cyber space.
International law only allows a state to use force against another state under a decision by the
UN Security Council or as self-defense against an "armed attack" (see Article 51 of the UN
Charter). It is a key point here whether a cyber attack may be qualified as an armed attack. Un-
fortunately, Western experts have difficulty finding an answer.
Growing tensions in cyber space mean that cyber security issues need special attention and un-
biased assessments. Russia continues to see the United Nations as the most appropriate interna-
tional framework for tackling these problems, as a guarantor of a systematic search for solutions
to them, and as a forum where all countries and regions have their interests heeded.
http://interaffairs.ru
The UN and the International Cyber Security Problem