USCIB Vice President for ICT Policy Barbara Wanner joined a stakeholder consultation alongside other non-governmental organizations in an informal dialogue of the United Nations’ Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on security and the use of information and communications technologies (ICT’s) (2021-2025).

According to Wanner, the OEWG is mandated to further develop rules, norms and principles of responsible behavior for governments related to ICT security, such as information and data, as well as possible cooperative measures to prevent and counter threats.

Wanner’s intervention focused on three points; timely involvement of the business community, especially during cybersecurity incidents, a shared approach to capacity building and the importance of convening experts on the impact of AI, quantum computing and other technologies on international security.

“As UN members states consider how to harness these technologies to enhance security – as well as address potential risks they pose – we urge you to include stakeholders to ensure a holistic and thoughtful examination of what is new, what is different and what warrants policy and regulatory adaptions,” said Wanner.

Hosted by the OEWG Chair, the Permanent Representative of Singapore to the UN Burhan Gafoor, the dialogue provided an opportunity for continued interaction between the stakeholder community and governments.

This stakeholder consultation was scheduled ahead of the fifth substantive session of the OEWG taking place later this month at the UN headquarters in New York.