EWI Attends International Research Consortium of Information Security

News | December 22, 2017

On December 14, Director of EWI Office in the Russian Federation Vladimir Ivanov participated in the XV Scientific Conference of the International Research Consortium of Information Security, held at the Reception House of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and sponsored by Mezhdunarodnaya Zhizn, a leading Russian foreign affairs diplomatic journal. This annual event was devoted to information security in the context of the development of the digital economy, mechanisms for the implementation of norms, principles and rules for responsible behavior of states in the ICT environment, as well as the impact of information technologies on strategic stability. The event was attended by diplomats, security officials, academics and experts from Russia and abroad.

In his introductory remarks, a co-chair of the meeting Dr. Vladislav Sherstyuk, Director of the Institute for Information Security Issues with the Moscow State University (IISI) favorably assessed the outcomes of a multi-year productive partnership between IISI and EWI particularly emphasizing the value of the Joint U.S.-Russia Critical Terminology Foundations Report in providing guidelines on how to resolve the lingering international controversy on the development of universal norms of responsible behavior in cyberspace. Building on Dr. Sherstyuk’s idea, Ivanov dwelled on cultural and institutional differences between Russia and the United States, arguing that many of the current tensions in bilateral relations, including specifically the cyber domain, are rooted in mutually poor understanding of the political language, culture and national institutions of each other, and could be mitigated through more intense dialogue and more attentive listening to each other. Ivanov also focused on the work EWI had conducted in 2017 with the variety of Russian partners including IISI, the Russian International Affairs Council, the Moscow State Institute for International Relations, the Russian Internet Governance Forum and others.

He also reported on the first initiatives of the newly established Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace launched in February 2017 by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, together with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) and EWI. It has a strong potential, he said, to support United Nations efforts in the area of setting advanced norms and confidence-building measures in cyberspace, particularly through helping improve coordination between technical experts, policy-makers and private sector leaders globally.