Between Rhetoric and Reality: Evolving Cybersecurity Governance at the United Nations
Dr. Elaine Korzak

February 14, 2017

While cybersecurity discussions at the United Nations date back to 1998, they have only meaningfully progressed in the past six years. Through the format of Groups of Governmental Experts (GGEs), a small group of states has advanced a set of international provisions in three key areas: (1) norms and international law, (2) confidence- and transparency-building measures, and (3) capacity-building. Taken together, these areas promise to provide a robust governance structure for state behavior in cyberspace. However, incidents such as the one involving the Ukrainian electricity grid continue to challenge or even undermine this diplomatic progress. This talk aims to assess the state of discussions at the UN in light of the perceived rift with states’ actions. It introduces the provisions in all three areas in detail in order to evaluate the potential for further progress both in diplomatic circles as well as the impact on actual state behavior.

Dr. Elaine Korzak is currently a cybersecurity fellow at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey and an affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) at Stanford University. She was previously a fellow at the Hoover Institution and at CISAC. Her research focuses on international legal and policy aspects of cybersecurity. Her doctoral thesis on the international norms debate examined the cybersecurity discussions at the United Nations and the positions of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and China in this process. Her other research interests include cybersecurity and export control regimes as well as cyber capacity-building. Her professional experience includes NATO’s Cyber Defence Section as well as the European Commission’s Directorate-General on Information Society and Media.

Between Rhetoric and Reality: Evolving Cybersecurity Governance at the United Nations

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) sponsored this talk entitled “Between Rhetoric and Reality: Evolving Cybersecurity Governance at the United Nations” by Dr. Elaine Korzak on Feb. 14, 2017.

LLNL-VIDEO-727440