Working Group on Cooperation and Confidence-Building Measures in Cyberspace

About Us

This Working Group was approved by OAS Member States in 2017 through resolution CICTE/RES.1/17, given the need for increased cooperation, transparency, predictability, and stability among States in the use of cyberspace.


The Group focuses on non-traditional Confidence Building Measures (CBMs), specifically those related to cyberspace. Member States of the OAS have agreed to the following CBMs:

 

  1. Provide information on national cybersecurity policies, such as national strategies, white papers, legal frameworks and other documents that each Member State considers relevant.
  2. Identify a national point of contact at the political level to discuss the implications of hemispheric cyber threats.
  3. Designate points of contact, if they do not currently exist, in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs with the purpose of facilitating work for cooperation and international dialogues on cybersecurity and cyberspace.
  4. Develop and strengthen capacity building through activities such as seminars, conferences, and workshops, for public and private officials in cyber diplomacy, among others.
  5. Encourage the incorporation of cybersecurity and cyberspace issues in basic training courses and training for diplomats and officials at the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and other government agencies.
  6. Foster cooperation and exchange of best practices in cyber diplomacy, cybersecurity and cyberspace, through the establishment of working groups, other dialogue mechanisms and the signing of agreements between and among States.
  7. Encourage and promote the inclusion, leadership, and effective and meaningful participation of women in decision-making processes linked to information and communication technologies by promoting specific actions at the national and international levels, with the aim of addressing dimensions around gender equality, and the reduction of the gender digital divide, in line with the women, peace, and security agenda.
  8. Promote study, discussion, development, and capacity-building at the national and international levels regarding the application of international law to the use of information and communications technologies in the context of international security by promoting voluntary exchanges of positions and national vision statements, opinions, legislation, policies, and practices on the subject, in order to promote common understandings.
  9. Promote the implementation of the 11 voluntary, non-binding norms on responsible State behavior in cyberspace adopted by resolution 70/237 of the General Assembly of the United Nations and promote reporting on these efforts taking into account the national implementation survey.
  10. In the sphere of information and communication technologies, promote work and dialogue with all stakeholders, including civil society, academia, the private sector, and the technical community, among others.
  11. Develop national cyber incident severity schemas and share information about them.


This portal facilitates transparency and collaboration among its members as well as access to information, by providing a repository of policies and legislation related to cybersecurity and information on cyber and ministries of foreign affairs points of contacts from OAS Member States.


Data contained on the portal is administered by the Technical Secretariat of the Working Group , namely the CICTE/OAS as submitted voluntarily by its Member States.

News

Discover up-to-date news, articles and insightful blog posts by leading experts on current issues in the field of cybersecurity.

No Consensus on Proposed Global Cybercrime Treaty

On Friday, governments concluded two weeks of polarizing meetings at the United Nations on a proposed global cybercrime treaty without reaching consensus on fundamental issues like the treaty’s scope, what constitutes a cybercrime, and what role, if any, human rights should play in its implementation. Additionally, governments are still entertaining measures to fight global cybercrime at the expense of the rights of people this proposed treaty is meant to protect. The proposed treaty has the potential to rewrite cybercrime legislation in countries around the world and transform cross-border policing...

2023-09-06

The Common African Position on the Application of International Law in Cyberspace: Reflections on a Collaborative Lawmaking Process

On January 29, 2024, the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) unanimously adopted Communiqué 1196 (2024) pursuant to which it adopted the Common African Position on the Application of International Law to the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in the Cyberspace. The Common African Position (CAP) and all four Communiqués that the PSC adopted on this topic can be found here.

2024-02-05

Warning on increase in cyber-attacks with stolen passwords

A new report issued by IBM points out that Europe is the region most affected by cyberattacks, having received 32% of the incidents recorded in 2023, in a context in which the volume of attacks with valid credentials and the use of software for information theft has increased, and a lack of basic security in critical infrastructures is noticed.

2024-02-21

New Google Initiative to Foster AI in Cybersecurity

The internet giant believes that AI is pivotal for digital security, having the potential to provide defenders with a definitive advantage over attackers and to upend the Defender’s Dilemma. “AI allows security professionals and defenders to scale their work in threat detection, malware analysis, vulnerability detection, vulnerability fixing and incident response,” Google says. Through the new AI Cyber Defense Initiative, the internet giant brings AI to security and helps others, investing in an AI-ready infrastructure and providing new defensive tools and research, as well as AI security training.

2024-02-19

DHS Launches First-Ever Cyber Safety Review Board

Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the establishment of the Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB), as directed in Executive Order 14028 on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity. The CSRB is an unprecedented public-private initiative that will bring together government and industry leaders to elevate our nation’s cybersecurity.

2022-02-08
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Events

Find upcoming trainings and webinars on cybersecurity and more capacity building opportunities that are of interest in the area.

Masterclass: Programme of Action for Advancing Responsible State Behaviour in Cyberspace

The main objective of the masrerclass course is provide intensive academic and practical training on the Programme of Action (PoA) as outlined in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution 77/37. It places a strong emphasis on the pivotal role of cyberspace in international relations and security, highlighting the imperative of responsible state behavior.

11-13-2023 09:00 - 11-17-2023 00:00

Virtual

Integration of Cybersecurity in the Latin American and Caribbean Development Agenda

In the context of the need to accelerate secure digital transformation in the region, the webinar "Integrating Cybersecurity into the Development Agenda of Latin America and the Caribbean", co-organized by the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise (GFCE), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Microsoft, in collaboration with the OAS CICTE Cybersecurity Program aims to bring together experts, practitioners and policy makers to discuss and raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity as an integral part of the region's digital growth. Objectives: - Understand the role of cybersecurity in supporting safe and secure digital transformation. - Explore the importance of digital development as an enabling function to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). - To learn about past and ongoing cyber capacity building projects that drive development in the region.

02-20-2024 10:00 - 02-20-2024 00:00

Virtual
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Resources

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