White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt met with Russian Internet security officials last month to discuss the two nations activities in cyberspace to reduce the risk of misperception and inadvertent crisis, Schmidt said.
The meeting, called a “Reset” in U.S.-Russia cyber relations, ended with Schmidt and Russian National Security Council Deputy Secretary Nikolay Klimashin releasing a joint statement which you can read below. The agreement is a key effort for realizing the President’s International Strategy for Cyberspace.
The two countries agreed to do the following:
- Regular exchanges of information on technical threats to both sides like botnets.
- Better understand each other’s military views on operating in cyberspace.
- Establish 24/7 systems allowing communications about cybersecurity issues via existing and highly successful crisis prevention communications links.
“We plan to have all three mechanisms established by year’s end,” Schmidt said. “Through progress like this, our countries are leading the way in developing pro-active bi-lateral measures that use cyberspace to more broadly enhance our national, and international security.”
Statement:
JOINT STATEMENT BY CYBERSECURITY COORDINATOR SCHMIDT AND DEPUTY SECRETARY KLIMASHIN
U.S. AND RUSSIAN DELEGATIONS MEET TO DISCUSS CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES IN CYBERSPACE
On June 21-23, representatives from the Russian Federation and United States met in Washington to continue discussions of confidence-building measures, with the goal of preventing misunderstanding and inadvertent escalation of cybersecurity incidents. Cooperation between the Parties on enhancing security in cyberspace has reached a promising new level, which allows for practical development of confidence-building mechanisms and promotes transparency of government activities in this field.
The working group, called for by the high-level cybersecurity bilateral in Moscow in February 2011, focused on implementing the proposals from that last meeting, including: the exchange of military views on cyberspace operations; implementing regular information exchange between both nations’ Computer Emergency Response/Readiness Teams (CERTs); and establishing protocols to communicate about cybersecurity issues via our existing and highly successful risk reduction/crisis prevention communications links between capitals.
While deepening mutual understanding on national security issues in cyberspace, these measures will help our two governments better communicate about small- and large-scale threats to our networks, facilitate better collaboration in responding to those threats, and reduce the prospect of escalation in response to crisis incidents. Both sides resolved to complete these three steps, exchanging papers and establishing the operational relationships, by year’s end, and further pursue dialogue to enhance understanding of national security in cyberspace.
