The coronavirus epidemic, which just in a matter of weeks changed the normal life of billions of people, has become a real test for all of humanity. At the moment, it is impossible to predict not only the exact but even an approximate time of its ending. Under these conditions, it seems logical that efforts are being made to accelerate digitization of many aspects of daily activities, including public administration, business activity, and education. Foreign relations are no exception to this trend. Therefore, it is natural that the issues of reliable international information security (IIB) come to the fore on the global agenda.

At the same time, the current situation in this area is far from ideal. Moreover, the world community is faced with a very real "cyber pandemic", which manifests itself not only in the form of encroachment on the privacy of ordinary citizens. Acts of cyber terrorism, the increase in the number of attacks on healthcare facilities, financial, educational structures, and international organizations, which was recorded during the epidemic, are of deep concern. Online criminal activity, ranked among the top five global risks by the World Economic Forum (WEF), threatens the existence and success of entire industries. The numbers speak for themselves. According to the WEF, in 2019 alone the losses of the global economy from cyber attacks were estimated at 2.5 trillion dollars, and by 2022 this figure may reach 8 trillion USD.

Information and communication technologies are often used to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states. A number of countries are already publicly discussing their right to launch preventive cyber attacks against potential adversaries, including their critical infrastructure.

Thus, in the absence of a universal international “code of conduct” in the cybersphere, the sustainable socio-economic, scientific and technological development of all countries becomes vulnerable. Humanity runs the risk of being dragged into a dangerous large-scale confrontation in the online space, which cannot be kept local due to the transboundary nature of modern means of communication and the interdependence of nations’ economies.

Obviously, it is high time for the world community to draw proper conclusions on how to use ICT and regulate the activities of states in a civilized way, not to the detriment of progress, fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Russia’s principled approach to maintaining IIB takes into account the complexity of this issue. We distinguish three main sets of threats: military-political, terrorist and criminal.

It is worth recalling that more than 20 years ago in 1998, Russia was the first to warn the world from the UN podium about the risks coming from emerging cybersphere and proposed concrete ways to counter them. Today our position remains unchanged and boils down to the following:

- All states, without exception, should participate in finding solutions and discussing this global problem. It is also important to take into account the views of other interested forces (business, civil society, academia);

- The search for a universal solution is possible only through negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations;

- The main goal of such negotiation efforts is to prevent conflicts in the information space and ensure the use of ICT exclusively for peaceful purposes. In this regard, the task of promptly coordinating the rules of responsible behavior of states is becoming increasingly urgent.  These rules for the digital environment should enshrine the principles of respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs, non-use of force and threat of force, the right to individual and collective self-defense, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as equal rights for all states to participate in Internet governance.

Unfortunately, a number of countries oppose such an inclusive course with a different logic, replacing the struggle for equal and indivisible cybersecurity with a poorly concealed desire to impose their own "order." Thus, they strive to preserve their technological advantages, continue to take unilateral forceful steps in the ICT field, and usurp the right to independently appoint those responsible for cyber incidents. All of this is ultimately capable of turning the world information space into a new theater of military operations.

For example, some are strongly opposed to the development of international legal instruments that prevent the use of ICT for self-serving military-political purposes and clarify in what cases cyber attacks can be classified as armed attacks and can invoke Article 51 of the UN Charter regulating Member states’ right for self-defense. The idea of ​​strengthening the UN role in regulating political issues related to the use of ICTs, including the creation of an international cyber arbitration or another permanent body to deal with IIB under its auspices, is not supported. The need to involve the UN Security Council in reviewing and settling of interstate incidents and conflicts related to the use of ICT is denied. Disputed is the right of states to protect their national information security and communication infrastructure located on their own territory.

In this regard, it is significant that it is the Russian principles that enjoy the broadest support in the world. In 2018, the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly by an overwhelming majority of votes adopted our resolution, which not only formulated an initial list of rules for the conduct of states in the information space, but also created an effective negotiating mechanism through a UN-based, specialized open-ended working group for solving the problem of ensuring IIB.

On a parallel track, within the UN framework, Russia initiated the development of a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of ICT for criminal purposes. Co-sponsored by 47 states, a resolution draft “Countering the use of information and communication technologies for criminal purposes” was submitted to the 74th Session of the General Assembly. The resolution, supported by the majority of countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, established an open-ended intergovernmental committee of experts to develop the convention and take into account existing international laws and efforts at the national and regional levels to combat cybercrime. The acceptance of the Russian initiative by the international community shows that it is the imperative of the times, the new reality with the rapidly growing role of ICT and the arising challenges.

Russia will continue to work on building up bilateral and multilateral cooperation on the entire range of issues of ensuring IIB, including countering threats arising from the large-scale use of ICT for military-political purposes. Our priorities include assistance in preparing and adopting international acts regulating the application of principles and norms of international humanitarian law in this area, creation of conditions for the establishment of an international legal framework for non-proliferation of information weapons, development and implementation of comprehensive programs that help overcome the information inequality between developed and developing countries.

We call on partners to take the best from the experience of rallying the world community in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and creatively use these developments in the cybersphere. It is important not to put these sensitive issues on the back burner, not to engage in tug of war, but to focus on practical work and unite efforts.

We are convinced that the 75th Anniversary Session of the UN General Assembly this September is a good opportunity to create the foundation for an effective international information security architecture. We hope that while developing solutions to ensure a stable "post-COVID" future of humanity, the GA participants will also contribute to this effort.