
Trust and security
As the world becomes more dependent on digital technologies, individuals, businesses and states face a growing array of “cyber threats”.
These threats are real, and can pose significant risks to our safety and security, our right to privacy, and our trust in the digital environment. But responses to cyber threats—whether at the national, regional, or global level—can undermine human rights as well; and the spaces where these responses are decided are often closed to civil society.
GPD’s trust and security work focuses on making cyber-related policies and laws more rights-respecting, and influencing relevant processes so that they are more open, inclusive and transparent.
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GPD Blog
- Trust and Security digest (January 2023)
- GPD inputs into continuing negotiations at the Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime
- Trust and Security digest (November 2022)
- Trust and Security digest (October 2022)
- Key takeaways from the 2022 ITU Plenipotentiary
- Trust and Security digest (September 2022)
- Additional ITU resources
- The ITU: a brief explainer
- Three reasons human rights defenders should care about the ITU
- The calm before the storm? : notes on a slow and (un)steady AHC meeting
- Trust and Security digest (August 2022)
- Trust and Security digest (July 2022)
- The latest OEWG report: thoughts and recommendations
- Case study: Civil society engagement in the development of Chile’s NCS
- Trust and Security digest (April 2022)
- Trust and Security digest (March 2022)
- Ukraine: what are the likely implications for norms and discussions in cyberspace?
- Trust and Security digest (January 2022)
- Will the UN Step Up Transparency on the Tech Envoy Selection Process?
- Trust and Security digest (November 2021)
- The UN’s cybercrime treaty: where do things stand?
- Trust and Security digest (October 2021)
- Trust and Security digest (September 2021)
- Trust and Security digest (August 2021)
- Trust and Security digest (July 2021)
- Trust and Security digest (June 2021)
- “In progress”? Reflections on the UN discussions on state behaviour in cyberspace
- Trust and Security digest (May 2021)
- Trust and Security digest (April 2021)
- Trust and Security digest (March 2021)
- The OEWG’s consensus report: key takeaways
- Trust and Security digest (February 2021)
- Trust and Security digest (January 2021)
- OEWG civil society input
- Trends in the encryption debate: from intelligence gathering to tackling online harms
- Trust and Security digest (November 2020)
- Trust and Security digest (October 2020)
- Trust and Security digest (September 2020)
- Trust and Security digest (August 2020)
- GPD launches new Toolkit to support inclusive and value-based cybersecurity policymaking
- Trust and Security digest (July 2020)
- Cybersecurity digest (June 2020)
- Cybersecurity digest (May 2020)
- Cybersecurity digest (April 2020)
- Cybersecurity digest (March 2020)
- Cybersecurity digest (February 2020)
- Reporting back from the second substantive OEWG meeting
- Cybersecurity digest (January 2020)
- Key takeaways from the December OEWG intersessional
- Cybersecurity digest (November 2019)
- Key takeaways from the AU GGE consultation
- Cybersecurity digest (October 2019)
- Cybersecurity digest (September 2019)
- Reporting back from the first substantive OEWG meeting
- Engaging at the UNGA First Committee and the GGE and OEWG: a guide
- Cybersecurity digest (August 2019)
- Cyber norms update: takeaways from the GGE OAS regional consultation
- Cybersecurity digest (July 2019)
- Cybersecurity digest (June 2019)
- Cyber norms in NYC: takeaways from the OEWG meeting and UNIDIR Cyber Stability Conference
- Cybersecurity digest (May 2019)
- Cybersecurity digest (April 2019)
- Cybersecurity digest (March 2019)
- Multistakeholderism: the missing cyber norm?
- Cybersecurity digest (February 2019)
- Cybersecurity digest (January 2019)
- Cybersecurity digest (December 2018)
- Cybersecurity digest (November 2018)
- Cybersecurity digest (October 2018)
- Cybersecurity digest (September 2018)
- Microsoft’s Tech Accord – and what it tells us about the cyber state of play
- GCCS2017: a cyberspace free, open and secure (but mostly secure)
- Reflections on ICDPPC 2017 from a human rights defender
- The case for inclusive cyber policymaking processes
On our radar
Updated: 4 months ago
- Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023 (WEF, 18 January 2023)
- Learning from Ghana’s Multistakeholder Approach to Cyber Security (Africa Center for Strategic Studies, 3 January 2023)
- Destination Africa: The scramble to sell cyberweapons to dictators (Politico, 7 December 2022)
- The Effect of International Proposals for Monitoring Obligations on End-to-End Encryption (Centre for Data Innovation, 14 November 2022)
- Position paper: A safe internet for all – Upholding private and secure communications (EDRi, 19 October 2022)
- Albania is the first known country to sever diplomatic ties over a cyberattack (The Washington Post, 8 September 2022)
- UN and Organized Crime: The Podcast - UN Cybercrime Negotiation Insights (Global Initiative, 3 August 2022))
- Cybercrime convention could help and harm victims (Chatham House, 19 July 2022)
- The global state of cybercrime legislation: Update as at 31 January 2022! (Council of Europe, 2 February 2022)
- Nearly 130 Public Interest Organizations and Experts Urge the United Nations to Include Human Rights Safeguards in Proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty (EFF, 13 January 2022)
- Cyber world is starting 2022 in crisis mode with the log4j bug (Washington Post, 3 January 2022)
- Online Safety Bill poses threats to encryption (Open Access Government, 26 August 2021)
- Cybercrime is Dangerous, But a New UN Treaty Could Be Worse for Rights (Just Security, 13 August 2021)
- If You Build It, They Will Come: Apple Has Opened the Backdoor to Increased Surveillance and Censorship Around the World (EFF, 11 August 2021)
- CDT: Apple’s Changes to Messaging and Photo Services Threaten Users’ Security and Privacy (CDT, 5 Aug 2021)
- Pegasus Spyware Revelations Are a Cautionary Tale of Digital Authoritarianism (Heritage Foundation, 5 Aug 2021)
- Council of Europe’s Actions Belie its Pledges to Involve Civil Society in Development of Cross Border Police Powers Treaty (EFF, 22 July 2021)
- Five NGOs, four journalists sue Nigerian government over Twitter suspension (Guardian, 21 June 2021)
- Africa: Implementation of cybersecurity and data protection law urgent across continent (Lexology, 7 June 2021)
- Global Law Enforcement Convention Weakens Privacy & Human Rights (EFF, 7 June 2021)
- Microsoft launches first Asia Pacific Public Sector Cyber Security Executive Council across seven markets in the region (Microsoft, 31 May 2021)
- INTERPOL launches initiative to fight cybercrime in Africa (Interpol, 12 May 2021)
- The UN Struggles to Make Progress on Securing Cyberspace (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 19 May 2021)
- Abuse of Cybercrime Measures Taints UN Talks (Human Rights Watch, 5 May 2021)
- Octopus Project: Addressing COVID-19-related cybercrime in Asia with financial support from the Government of Japan (CoE, 1 March 2021)
- Recovering from the SolarWinds hack could take 18 months (MIT Tech Review, 2 March 2021)
- AI researchers detail obstacles to data sharing in Africa (Venture Beat, 23 February 2021)
- Cybercrime Negotiations: Affairs Beyond States (Directions Blog, 29 January 2021)
- Nigeria: Buhari Seeks Overhaul of National Strategy On Cyber Security (All Africa, 23 February 2021)
- Africa's Evolving Cyber Threats (African Center for Strategic Studies, 19 January 2021)
- Cyber Norms Index and Timeline (Carnegie Endowment, 13 January 2021)
- A moment of reckoning: the need for a strong and global cybersecurity response (Microsoft, 17 December 2020)
- New EU Cybersecurity Strategy and new rules to make physical and digital critical entities more resilient (European Commission, 16 December 2020)
- ECOWAS, EU and Germany launch 41 million EUR flagship program to fight organized crime in West Africa (New Dawn, November 2020)
- Stakeholders set cybersecurity agenda for Africa amidst digital transformation (World Stage, 2 December 2020)
- The cyber diplomacy of constructing norms in cyberspace (G20 Insights, 24 November 2020)
- U.S. Support for Digital Transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean (U.S. Dept. of State, 10 November 2020)
- Ghana Introduces Cybersecurity Act (Capacity, 11 November 2020)
- MOPT To Conduct Training for All CIOs (Liberian Observer, 16 November 2020)
- Vanuatu set to adopt new cyber crime law (RNZ, 3 November 2020)
- Singapore to work with UN to help nations implement norms for responsible cyber behaviour (Strait Times, 2 November 2020)
- ‘#EndSARS exposed Nigeria’s weakness to cybercrime’ (Guardian News, 2 November 2020)
- IPANDETEC’s Report on Panama’s ISPs Show Improvements But More Work Needed to Protect Users’ Privacy (EFF, 30 October 2020)
- Coalition of African Nations to Coordinate Data Protection Framework (JD Supra, 28 October 2020)
- Signs of movement for encryption policy? (Reporters Committee for Freedom fo the Press, 26 October 2020)
- The State of Cybersecurity in Africa (IT News Africa, 15 October 2020)
- Cyberattack surge highlights Africa security risk (SciDevNet, 8 October 2020)
- Freedom House: Freedom on the Net 2020
- It’s Time for the Asia-Pacific to Move Toward Regional Cyber Norms (The Diplomat, 14 October 2020)
- Malaysia introduces new cyber security strategy (The Malaysian Reserve, 13 October 2020)
- Cybersecurity Effects of Coronavirus in ASEAN and the Path Ahead (Via News, 1 October 2020)
- Ghana to pass Cybersecurity Bill this year - Communications Minister (Graphic Online, 1 October 2020)
- NGOs urgently open parliament and respect for human rights in cybersecurity legislation (La Prensa, 23 September 2020)
- African Union turns to biosurveillance tech to curb COVID-19 (Global Voices, 14 September 2020)
- National Cyber Power Index 2020 (Belfer Centre for Science & International Affairs)
- Online crime in Africa a bigger threat than ever before, warns Interpol (IOL, 7 September 2020)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and human rights (APC, June 2020)
- Technology has codified structural racism – will the EU tackle racist tech? (EURACTIV, 3 September 2020)
- Civil groups condemn cyberattacks on Indonesian government critics (Jakarta Post, 23 August 2020)
- Cybersecurity: A brief analysis on the Central American context (A-id, 12 August 2020)
- Nigeria: UK, Nigeria to Promote Digital Access With Policy Reforms (allAfrica, 17 August 2020)
- Facial recognition use by South Wales Police ruled unlawful (BBC News, 11 August 2020)
- Liberia: Cyber Crimes Has Increased Considerably in Liberia's Cyberspace - a Call to Adopt Policy and Strategy (allAfrica, 13 August 2020)
- National Cyber Security Centre and CID nab empress leak operator (GhanaWeb, 11 August 2020)
- EU Council Imposes First-Ever Sanctions against Cyber Attacks (NLR, 4 August 2020)
- Govt finally unveils Australia's new cyber security strategy (iT News, 6 August 2020)
- Proposed Cyber Security Bill goes through pre-legislative stage in parliament (Sierra Leone Telegraph, 5 August 2020)
- EU imposes the first ever sanctions against cyber-attacks (Council of the EU, 30 July 2020)
- Q&A: How Systemic Racism Weakens Cybersecurity (Dark Reading, 22 July 2020)
- Russia pledges reciprocal steps after EU sanctions for alleged cyberattacks (Reuters, 31 July 2020)
- Twitter hack: Staff tricked by phone spear-phishing scam (BBC News, 31 July 2020)
- Millions of Chinese CVs exposed on cloud server (BBC, 14/01/19)
- A Worldwide Hacking Spree Uses DNS Trickery to Nab Data (Wired, 11/01/19)
- EU eyes tougher scrutiny of China cyber security risks (Financial Times, 01/01/19)
- Intelligent Machines The US and China are in a quantum arms race that will transform warfare (03/01/19, MIT Technology Review)
- Kenya: Regulator warns of rise in cybersecurity threats (Business Daily, 09/01/19)
- A man asked for his data from Amazon—and they sent him 1,700 recordings of someone else (MIT Technology Review, 21/12/18)
- Analysis of the European R&D priorities in cybersecurity (ENISA, 19/12/18)
- At the table with the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace (Diplo, 19/12/18)
- EU To Offer Almost $1M In Bug Bounties On Open Source Software (Forbes, 30/12/18)
- Ghana: Cyber Security Authority to be Established in 2019 (Modern Ghana, 15/12/18)
- How China Views the Arrest of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou (The New Yorker, 17/12/18)
- Huawei to spend $2 billion over five years in cybersecurity push (Reuters, 18/12/18)
- Israel: Cybersecurity and Human Rights (Tech Crunch, 21/12/18)
- Safaricom says collaboration helped it reduce mobile money fraud (IT Web, 12/12/18)
- South Africa: Cybercrimes Bill defanged, but our privacy rights are still not secured (Daily Maverick, 21/12/18
- Thailand: Cyber-security bill marred by lack of oversight (The Nation, 21/12/18)
- U.S., allies slam China for brazen cyberattacks as Trump administration indicts hackers (Politico, 20/12/18)
- UN High Level Panel on Digital Cooperation should ignore a multi-stakeholder approach to cybersecurity at its peril (Cyber Tech Accord, 21/12/18)
- Vietnam: Big Brother Is Watching Everyone (Human rights Watch, 20/12/18)
- Asean's cyber defences in need of more guards (The Straits Times, 13/12)
- Australia: New guidelines for responding to cyber attacks don’t go far enough (The Conversation, 17/12)
- BIMSTEC: An Unprecedented Opportunity for Collaboration and Cooperation in Cyberspace (IDSA, 18/12)
- Cambodia: Official warns of cyber attacks (Khmer Times, 13/12)
- Can Huawei survive an onslaught of bans and restrictions abroad? (The Economist, 13/12)
- EU suffers major cyber-security scandal with publication of 1,100 secret cables (Euractiv, 18/12)
- Facebook, Under Scrutiny, Pays Out Largest Bug Bounty Yet (Wired, 13/12)
- Ghana: Cyber Security Authority to be Established in 2019 (Modern Ghana, 15/12)
- Huawei pledges $2 billion cybersecurity investment amid global scrutiny (Politico, 18/12)
- Myanmar: Govt considering new cyber law, minister says (Myanmar Times, 13/12)
- Reports show Russia mounted sweeping effort to sow divisions, support Trump (Politico, 17/12)
- How Does the Business of Cybercrime Work? (Council on Foreign Relations, 10/12)
- BT refuses to let Huawei bid for core 5G infrastructure (New Statesman, 5/12)
- China may be behind four-year-long Marriott International cyber attack, claims report (New Statesman, 9/12)
- EU negotiators agree on strengthening Europe's cybersecurity (European Commision, 10/12)
- East Asia Summit Leaders’ Statement on Deepening Cooperation in the Security of Information and Communications Technologies and of The Digital Economy (ASEAN, 15,11)
- Germany Develops Offensive Cyber Capabilities Without A Coherent Strategy of What to Do With Them (Council on Foreign Relations, 3/12)
- Global Cyber Security Norms: A Proliferation Problem? (ICT4Peace, 3/12)
- Google ‘studying steps’ to open headquarters in Vietnam in accordance with cybersecurity laws (South China Morning Post, 12/12)
- Huawei pledges $2bn in effort to allay UK security concerns (Guardian, 9/12)
- Opinion: Will China's Investments Reshape Africa's Internet? (Power 3.0, 6/12)
- Philippines to outsource all cyber security (Gov Insider, 06/12)
- Resolution bloat at ITU Plenipotentiary Conferences (Linqua Sinaptica, 6/12)
- Safaricom says collaboration helped it reduce mobile money fraud (IT Web, 12/12)
- Marriott announces data breach impacting 500 million hotel guests (Cyberscoop, 30/11)
- Strengthening ASEAN’s cybersecurity (ASEAN Post, 03/12)
- Chile to host Interpol General Assembly 2019 (Santiago Times, 24/11)
- Cyber security Bills have Zambia's govt stumped (ITWeb Africa, 21/11)
- EU urges Asean to accede to cybercrime treaty (MSN News, 25/11)
- How Trump’s Tariffs Disrupted a Fragile Cyber-Peace (Bloomberg, 29/11)
- Indonesia and United States ink agreement on cybersecurity training (CISO, 21/11)
- Report: Strengthening the EU’s Cyber Defence Capabilities (Centre for European Policy Studies, 26/11)
- Sierra Leone: Data of millions of patients compromised in Atrium breach (Sierra Leone Times, 29/11)
- South Africa: National Assembly adopts cybercrimes and security bill (Eyewitness News, 26/11)
- Tec de Monterrey launches hub to tackle cybercrime (Observatory of Educational Innovation, 27/11)
- The Growing Importance Of Cybersecurity Skills (Forbes, 28/11)
- The online threat that cybersecurity teams don’t cover (Quartz, 26/11)
- U.K., EU Officials Pledge Post-Brexit Cybersecurity Cooperation (Bloomberg, 26/11)
- UK and Germany grow wary of Huawei as US turns up pressure (FT, 29/11)
- Understanding the state of Australia’s cybersecurity efforts (TechWire, 28/11)
- When South American nations look for cyber help, China looms (Fifth Domain, 29/11)
- At Cyfy, India marches to the beat of its own cyber drum
- The midterm impact on cybersecurity (Politico, 30/10)
- Unpacking The Competing Russian and U.S. Cyberspace Resolutions at the United Nations (Council on Foreign Relations, 29/10)
- 30 years ago, the world's first cyberattack set the stage for modern cybersecurity challenges (Cyberscoop, 02/11)
- Cybersecurity: Paris Call of 12 November 2018 for Trust and Security in Cyberspace (France Diplomatie, 12/11)
- EU Cybersecurity Act: how a little-known piece of legislation could transform the internet of things (New Statesman, 02/11)
- EU Cybersecurity organisations agree on 2019 roadmap (European Defence Agency, 08/11)
- Europe: IoT ecosystem needs to be investigated, say experts (Computer Weekly, 26/10)
- No Deal Brexit Crisis Threatens UK Cybersecurity Chaos (Forbes, 15/11)
- The Hack Millions of People Are Installing Themselves
- The US sits out an international cybersecurity agreement (Wired, 12/11)
- Why the EU Is More Likely to Drive IT and Security Trends Than the US (Security Intelligence, 16/11)
- ISACA Accra Chapter holds 6th IT Governance Summit 2018 (GhanaWeb, 16/10)
- Orange launches cyber security centre in Morocco (Total Telecom, 19/10)
- Shortage of expertise heightens Nigeria’s cyber risks (New Telegraph, 19/10)
- Singapore invites ASEAN neighbours to send experts to collectively tackle online threats (Channel News Asia, 31/10)
- Singapore, Canada agree to boost cybersecurity cooperation (Channel News Asia, 14/11)
- ASEAN: Cooperating to counter cyber threats (Business Times, 13/11)
- Africa losses $3.5b to cyber attacks – World Bank (Ghana Business Review, 23/10)
- China is exporting its digital surveillance methods to African governments (Quartz Africa, 01/11)
- Cybersecurity Workforce Development: A Primer (New America, 01/11)
- Digital dictatorship in Vietnam seeks to silence dissidents (Al Jazeera, 15/11)
- EU leaders to seek cyber sanctions, press Asia for action: draft statements (Reuters, 17/10)
- Egypt and Thailand: When the military turns against free speech (Tech Crunch, 23/11)
- Japan, ASEAN share information about cyber attacks (Vietnam Plus, 12/11)
- Kaspersky Lab eyes Malaysia as second location for data transparency centre (Malay Mail, 14/11)
- Malaysia calls for increased global cooperation in cybersecurity (Borneo Post, 31/10)
- Minister in Charge of Japan’s Cybersecurity Says He Has Never Used a Computer (NY Times, 15/11)
- Senegal launches African 'cyber-security' school (Modern Ghana, 06/11)
- Singapore sets up world's first commercial cyber risk pool (Channel News Asia, 29/10)
- South Africa: Fake news too hot to handle for Cyber Crimes Bill (IT Web, 01/11)
- Vietnam cyber law will guard against fake news, terrorism: security ministry ( Reuters, 31/10)
- Zimbabwe gets $3.6 million from Japan to fight cybercrime (CGTN, 13/11)
- Understanding cybercrime regulation in Nigeria (CNBC, 24/10)
- Ghana: Parliament to ratify Budapest Convention on Cybercrime (Joy Online, 22/10)
- Fearing election hacking, EU leaders to ready sanctions (Reuters, 18/10)
- Internet connectivity triples in Africa amid rising cybercrime – AU (Premium Times, 16/10)
- A cyber-skills shortage means students are being recruited to fight off hackers (MIT Technology Review, 18/10)
- A very secret ballot: A case study on the electoral process in Kenya (October, SUR Journal)
- Cyberattack Revelations Appear to Undercut Russia's UN Efforts (Chatham House, 10/10)
- EU, U.S. Reaffirm Cyber Partnership (Meritalk, 16/10)
- Post-Brexit Britain Could Be A Cybersecurity Nightmare With Or Without A Deal (Forbes, 16/10)
- Australia encryption bill will weaken cyber security, warns Apple (CIO, 15/10)
- Between multistakeholderism and sovereignty: cyber norms in Egypt and the Gulf States (War on the Rocks, 12/10)
- Thailand - Outcry over draft Cybersecurity Bill (Bangkok Post, 12/10)
- The Cybersecurity 202: Lawmakers press for answers about China's alleged supply chain hack (Washington Post, 11/10)
- Ghana loses over $90,000 to cyber crime (Business Ghana, 09/10)
- Internet Society submits comments for the revision of the Ethiopian Cybercrime law (Internet Society, 12/10)
- Safaricom rolls out plan to reward ethical hackers (Business Daily, 10/10)
- Mobile money transactions in Somalia are overtaking Kenya, but there are significant risks (Quartz, 12/10)
- Google is planning to setup 200 Wi-Fi hotspots in Nigeria (BGR, 27/07)
- Speech of AUC Director for Infrastructure & Energy at the Workshop on Cyber strategies, Cyber legislation and Setting up of National CERTs (African Union, 23/07)
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NEWS | 29 Mar 2023
GPD provides input ahead of the fifth session of the AHC
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POST | 23 Mar 2023
Stalemate or incremental progress? Notes from the fourth OEWG session
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PUBLICATION | 9 Mar 2023
Application of International Law in Cyberspace: Human Rights Assessment Guide
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POST | 2 Feb 2023
The UN’s proposed cybercrime convention: notes from the fourth session
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POST | 26 Jan 2023
Trust and Security digest (January 2023)
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NEWS | 9 Jan 2023
GPD inputs into continuing negotiations at the Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime
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POST | 20 Dec 2022
Trust and Security digest (November 2022)
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POST | 10 Nov 2022
Key takeaways from the 2022 ITU Plenipotentiary
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