​Statement of the situation or prob​​lem

The use of telecommunications and information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been invaluable in fostering development and social and economic growth globally. However, despite all the benefits and uses these technologies offer, there are risks and threats to security. From personal finances to business operations, national infrastructure and public and private services, all transactions are increasingly managed through information and communication networks, making them more vulnerable to some form of attack. In order to build trust in the use and application of telecommunications/ICTs for applications and content of all kinds, especially those having a major positive impact in economic and social areas where all players exert an effect on the protection of personal data, network security and the actual network user, close collaboration is required between national authorities, foreign authorities, industry, academia and users. Based on the foregoing, securing information and communication networks and developing a culture of cybersecurity have become key in today's world for a number of reasons, including:
• a) the explosive growth in the deployment and use of ICT;
• b) cybersecurity remains a matter of concern of all, and there is thus a need to assist countries, in particular developing countries1, to protect their telecommunication/ICT networks against cyberattacks and threats;
• c) the need to endeavour to ensure the security of these globally interconnected infrastructures if the potential of the information society is to be achieved;
• d) the growing recognition, at the national, regional and international levels, of the need to develop and promote best practices, standards, technical guidelines and procedures to reduce vulnerabilities of and threats to ICT networks;
• e) the need for national action and regional and international cooperation to build a global culture of cybersecurity that includes national coordination, appropriate national legal infrastructures, watch, warning and recovery capabilities, government/industry partnerships and outreach to civil society and consumers;
• f) the requirement for a multistakeholder approach to effectively make use of the variety of tools available to build confidence in the use of ICT networks;
• g) United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 57/239, on creation of a global culture of cybersecurity, invites Member States "to develop throughout their societies a culture of cybersecurity in the application and use of information technology";
• h) UNGA Resolutions 68/167, 69/166 and 71/199, on the right to privacy in the digital age, affirm, inter alia, "that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, including the right to privacy";
• i) best practices in cybersecurity must protect and respect the rights of privacy and freedom of expression as set forth in the relevant parts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Declaration of Principles adopted by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and other relevant international human rights instruments;
• j) the Geneva Declaration of Principles indicates that "A global culture of cybersecurity needs to be promoted, developed and implemented in cooperation with all stakeholders and international expert bodies", the Geneva Plan of Action encourages sharing best practices and taking appropriate action on spam at national and international levels, and the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society reaffirms the necessity for a global culture of cybersecurity, particularly under Action Line C5 (Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs);
• k) ITU was requested by WSIS (Tunis, 2005), in its agenda for implementation and follow-up, to be the lead facilitator/moderator for Action Line C5 (Building confidence and security in the use of ICTs), and relevant resolutions have been adopted by the Plenipotentiary Conference, the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) and the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC);
• l) UNGA Resolution 70/125 adopted the outcome document of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the WSIS outcomes;
• m) the WSIS+10 Statement on the implementation of WSIS outcomes, and the WSIS+10 vision for WSIS beyond 2015, adopted at the ITU coordinated WSIS+10 high-level event (Geneva, 2014) and endorsed by the Plenipotentiary Conference (Busan, 2014), which were submitted as an input into the UNGA's overall review on the implementation of WSIS outcomes;
• n) WTDC Resolution 45 (Rev. Kigali, 2022) supports the enhancement of cybersecurity among interested Member States;
• o) Resolution 130 (Rev. Dubai, 2018) of the Plenipotentiary Conference resolves to continue promoting common understanding among governments and other stakeholders of building confidence and security in the use of ICTs at the national, regional and international level;
• p) WTSA Resolution 50 (Rev. Geneva, 2022), highlights the need to harden and defend information and telecommunication systems from cyberthreats and cyberattacks, and continue to promote cooperation among appropriate international and regional organizations in order to enhance exchange of technical information in the field of information and telecommunication network security;
• q) the conclusions and recommendations set out in ITU Telecommunication Development Sector (ITU-D) Study Group 2's final report on Question 3/2, to the effect that the activities in the current terms of reference be continued and that evolving and emerging technical threats beyond spam and malware be considered for the next study period;
• r) there have been various efforts to facilitate the improvement of network security, including the work of Member States and Sector Members in standards-setting activities in the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU T) and in the development of best-practice reports in ITU D; by the ITU secretariat in the Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA); and by ITU D in its capacity-building activities under the relevant programme; and, in certain cases, by experts across the globe;
• s) governments, service providers and end-users, particularly in least developed countries (LDCs), face unique challenges in developing security policies and approaches appropriate to their circumstances;
• t) reports detailing the various resources, strategies and tools available to build confidence in the use of ICT networks and the role of international cooperation in this regard are beneficial for all stakeholders;
• u) spam and malware continue to be a serious concern, although evolving and emerging threats must also be studied;
• v) the need for simplified test procedures at basic level for security testing of telecommunication networks to promote a security culture.

  Question o​​r issue for study

• a) Promote awareness-raising for users and capacity building regarding cybersecurity (with possible collaboration with Question 5/2).
• b) Update the perspectives, studies and experiences of the report for Question 3/2 for the last study period.
• c) Share experiences on cybersecurity assurance practices.
• d) Discuss approaches and best practices for cybersecurity incident responses.
• e) Discuss approaches and best practices, and collect experiences on the implementation of national cybersecurity strategies and policies.
• f) Discuss challenges and approaches for 5G cybersecurity.
• g) Discuss challenges and approaches to addressing smishing and SMS incidents.
• h) Discuss approaches and share experiences of computer incident response team (CIRT) national coordination for the resilience of critical infrastructure.​
  

Expected ​output​

• ​a) Reports to the membership on the issues identified in § 2 a) to h) above. The reports in question will reflect that secure information and communication networks are integral to building the information society and to ensuring the economic and social development of all nations. They will also provide contributions that assist countries in formulating guidelines to address cybersecurity challenges.
  ​ Cybersecurity challenges include potential unauthorized access to, destruction of and modification of information transmitted on ICT networks, as well as countering and combating spam and malware. However, the consequences of such challenges can be mitigated by increasing awareness of cybersecurity issues, establishing effective public-private partnerships and sharing successful best practices employed by policy-makers and businesses, and through collaboration with other stakeholders.
  In addition, a culture of cybersecurity can promote trust and confidence in these networks, stimulate secure usage, ensure protection of data, including personal data, while enhancing access and trade, and enabling nations to achieve the economic and social development benefits of the information society more effectively.
• b) Holding ad hoc sessions, seminars and workshops to share knowledge, information and best practices concerning effective, efficient and useful measures and activities to enhance cybersecurity, increase confidence and protect data and networks, taking into consideration existing and potential risks for ICTs, using outcomes of the study, to be collocated as far as possible with meetings of ITU-D Study Group 2 or of the rapporteur group for the Question.