Research
Cyberspace represents one of the greatest inventions of mankind, reshaping personal, social, business, and political relationships. Unfortunately, due to attacks on and through cyberspace, urgent action is needed to ensure its stability. This concept of cyberspace stability—like its close cousin, international stability—requires a shared vision, one in which all parties recognize that geopolitical disagreements and changes which affect cyberspace must be managed in relative peace, and that cyberspace stability must be assured.
The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace began its work convinced that an issue traditionally reserved to states—international peace and security—could no longer be addressed without engaging other stakeholders. Cyberspace is a multistakeholder environment: those who build and manage cyberspace, and those who respond to attacks on and through cyberspace, are as likely to be non-state actors as government officials. Our Commissioners were selected to reflect this characteristic. Besides former senior government officials with experience in international security issues, our ranks included acknowledged leaders from the fields of Internet governance, the human rights and development communities, and technology and industry. Together, our 28 Commissioners from 16 countries provided a wide range of experience and views, and they were aided by public comments in response to Commission outreach.
The Commission’s final report represents three years of hard work. We gratefully recognize those who made this possible: our Commissioners, our advisors and researchers (many of them also volunteers), our financial supporters, and our management board. Finally, our appreciation goes to the Secretariat, which not only ably managed the process but was instrumental in the Commission’s creation as a civil society initiative.
Throughout its work, the Commission remained cognizant of other cyberspace initiatives, both past and present. Our report—Advancing Cyberstability—complements and reinforces the work of others, while providing new ideas for advancing the stability of cyberspace.
Download the full report here (English language PDF).
You can read the full paper series here:
- The Evolution of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Cyber Issues: From a Marginal Group to a Major International Security Norm-Setting Body. Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar, Ambassador for Cyber Diplomacy, Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- From Confrontation to Consensus: Taking Stock of the OEWG Process. Ambassador Jürg Lauber, Chair of the first UN Open-ended Working Group on developments in the field of information and telecommunications; Lukas Eberli, Second Secretary for Cybersecurity at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations.
- Cybersecurity, Internet Governance, and the Multistakeholder: Approach The Role of Non-State Actors in Internet Policy Making. Wolfgang Kleinwächter, Professor Emeritus, University of Aarhus; Commissioner, Global Commission on Stability in Cyberspace (GCSC).
- When Internet Governance Meets Digital Cooperation: Navigating IGF Growth and Development in the Context of an Evolving Internet Governance Ecosystem. Anriette Esterhuysen, Chair of the Multistakeholder Advisory Group of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum; Wim Degezelle Internet Policy Analyst and Consultant.
- Routing Without Rumor: Securing the Internet’s Routing System. Danny McPherson, Executive Vice President & Chief Security Officer, Verisign.
- Prioritizing Capacity Building as a Foundation for Cybersecurity and Stability. Christopher Painter, President, Global Forum on Cyber Expertise.
- Disconnecting from Cyberstability. An Assessment of how Internet Shutdowns in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda Undermine Cyberstability. Moses Owiny, Founder and CEO of the Centre for Multilateral Affairs; Sheetal Kumar, Senior Programme Lead at Global Partners Digital
- Digital Transformation and Cyberstability: Effects on Economic Development in Africa. Prof Bitange Ndemo, Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Nairobi.
- Is There Space for a Digital Non-Aligned Movement? Latha Reddy, Co-Chair of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace, Former Deputy National Security Advisor of India; Anoushka Soni, National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.
- Closing the Gap: Expanding Cyber Deterrence. Michael Daniel, CEO of the Cyber Threat Alliance; Former Cybersecurity Coordinator, US National Security Council.
- A Chinese Perspective on the Future of Cyberspace. Peixi Xu, Professor & Director of Global Internet Governance Studies Center, The Communication University of China.
- The Pro and Contra of an Incidents at Sea Agreement for Cyberspace. Alexander Klimburg, PhD Director, Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace Initiative and Secretariat.
About the Commission
Launched at the 2017 Munich Security Conference, the mission of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC) is to develop proposals for norms and policies to enhance international security and stability and guide responsible state and non-state behavior in cyberspace. The Commission helps to promote mutual awareness and understanding among the various cyberspace communities working on issues related to international cybersecurity.
The Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace was initiated by The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS), which, together with the EastWest Institute constitute the GCSC Secretariat. In addition to the Commission body itself, the GCSC is supported by a number of partners, including the governments of the Netherlands, Singapore and France, as well as Microsoft, the Internet Society, Afilias, other sponsors and supporters, and a Research Advisory Group that connects the GCSC to the academic community.
For more information, please visit www.cyberstability.org or contact loukfaesen@hcss.nl