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Confidence and security in using ICTs are fundamental in
building an inclusive, secure and global information society.
Confidence and security are vital to use ICTs effectively, as
acknowledged by the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
The legal, technical and institutional challenges posed by
the issue of cybersecurity are global and far-reaching, and can
only be addressed through a coherent strategy taking into
account the role of different stakeholders and existing
initiatives, within a framework of international cooperation.
Current attempts to address these challenges at the national
and regional levels are inadequate, as cyberspace is boundless
and limited only by human imagination. The boundaries of the
information society have no direct correlation with existing
geographical borders – cyberthreats can arise anywhere, at any
time, causing immense damage in a very short space of time,
before they are tackled.
The WSIS recognized the real and significant risks posed by
cybercrime and entrusted the ITU to facilitate the
implementation of WSIS Action Line C5 (Building confidence and
security in the use of ICTs). With its 191 Member States and
more than 700 Sector Members, ITU is uniquely placed to propose
a framework for international cooperation in cybersecurity. Its
membership includes Least Developed Countries, developing and
emerging economies, as well as developed countries. ITU is
therefore an excellent forum where actions and responses to
promote cybersecurity and tackle cybercrime can be discussed,
with the goal of arriving at a common understanding as to how
best these challenges can be addressed.
The Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) is an ITU framework for
international cooperation aimed at proposing solutions to
enhance confidence and security in the information society. It
will build on existing national and regional initiatives to
avoid duplication of work and encourage collabora¬tion amongst
all relevant partners.
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