In Cyberspace, Cooperation is Key

In recent years, cyberattacks have grown into a global threat of immense proportions. Politically and criminally motivated hackers have consistently filled headlines as they’ve stolen billions of dollars from businesses and even central banks, wreaking havoc in the industrial sector, stealing corporate and state secrets as well as individuals’ private data, and generally causing great damage to global peace, security and prosperity.

We have witnessed advanced targeted attacks occurring against critical infrastructure, such as power grids, water treatment and public transportation systems, as well as sabotage attempts against strategic systems to hinder a state’s ability to govern or provide basic services. In case of an attack, a city, a community, or even a whole country can be paralyzed.

It only takes a virus and a few kilo/megabytes of code to suddenly cause an accident at a nuclear station, a fire at an oil pipeline or a plane crash; but in terms of their destructive potential, cyber weapons are by no means inferior to those that are nuclear, biological or chemical in nature. However, unlike these, cyber weapons are not subject to any sort of regulation and have the advantage of being invisible, ubiquitous and precise.

This is why our CEO, Eugene Kaspersky, advocates the creation of a "Geneva Convention" between governments, with the aim of protecting citizens and critical infrastructure from the different cyberattacks that exist today. Cooperative agreements between governments can help create a safer environment for the internet and connected networks.

As a cybersecurity company, Kaspersky cooperates with Interpol and other law enforcement agencies around the world, providing them with technical support and offering free access to our Threat Intelligence platform, to assist them in investigations, not only of targeted attacks, but also of attacks stemming from national criminals against citizens.

Cybersecurity is an enabler for successful and sustainable digital transformation, which has become even more important amid the global pandemic. Therefore, international cooperation to ensure the stable and secure development of cyberspace is more critical now than ever. Let’s not forget that the cyberworld has no borders; thus, while governments and their cyber-sec agencies work in isolation, such fragmentation only benefits cybercriminals.