Forum: General Assembly 1

Issue: Telecommunication and Information development in the context of global security

Student Officer: Hyunseo Kwon
Position: Deputy Chair

Introduction:
With the use of Information and Communication Technologies, international security has
become a more and more important factor as it has brought us, homo sapiens, a prestigious
social and economic edge. With the international peace and security being disturbed,
inconsistent peace and security have been a recognisable risk in recent years with the use of
these technologies through various crimes. Malicious use of ICTs by the UN usually operates
with the exemption and often causes troublesome on many offenders resulting in a setting that
facilitates the utilisation of ICT for exploits that become more subtle.
Countless of Member States have urged the necessity of actions against threats that
occur as a result of the malicious use of Information and Communication Technologies. States
should guide the efforts of required actions to enhance security while adding progress in
cooperation at the international level. By doing this, it will enable turning it into a more secure
and peaceful one. Furthermore, practical cooperation would advantage all nations and citizens
in the involvement of the personal sector and civil society.
Intimidating the fullness and severeness of the issue, bringing consideration of present
threats and elaborating on the recommendations within the report of the number of the
'Governmental specialists on the Development in the Field of Information and
Telecommunications in the Context of International Security', of July 2010 (A/65/201), it is
offered by the Governmental specialists that within the gift report, its recommendations to push
peace and stability in the use of ICTs. It acknowledges that the appliance of awareness
obtained from existing laws related to the employment of ICTs by States is vital to scale back
perils to international stability, peace and security. The report recommends additional study to
push recognitions; however, such norms apply to State behaviour and therefore, the use of ICTs
by States. As there have been given notable attributes of ICTs, the report records that further
criteria may well be developed over time.
The report reflects the group's conclusion that law and especially the UN Charter, is
applicable associated is crucial to maintaining peace and stability and promoting an open,
secure, peaceful and accessible ICT setting. The cluster conjointly ended that State sovereignty
and therefore the international norms and principles that be due it apply to States' conduct of
ICT-related activities and their administration over ICT infrastructure with their territory; States
should meet their international obligations concerning internationally wrongful acts because of
the countless of states. The following report carries advice on optional criteria to make
dependence, transparency and confidence, similarly as international cooperation to make
capability for ICT security, particularly in developing countries. The group recommends the
holding of standard institutional dialogue on these problems underneath the auspices of the UN
similarly as regular dialogue in alternative forums, to advance these measures. Member States
ought to offer active thought to the current report and assess; however, they could take up these
recommendations for more development and implementation.

Definition of key terms:

Telecommunication:
Telecommunication pertains to the transfer of data by electronic means over a notable distance.
Telecommunication devices involve phones, microwaves, telegraphs, radios, communication
arrangements, fibre optics, satellites and the internet.

Cyber Terrorism:
Cyberterrorism is referred to as "terrorist activities intended to damage or disrupt vital computer
systems." Motivations of cyberterrorism vary and often include political reasons to cause severe
disruption or widespread fear.

Internet Governance:
Internet governance is the development and application by Governments, the private sector and
civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making
procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the internet.

Information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D):

Refers to the application of information and communication technologies toward social,
economic and political development, with a particular emphasis on helping poor and
marginalised citizens and various communities. It aims to help in international development by
bridging the digital divide providing equitable access to technologies.
Background information:
Countless states, economies and citizens of different countries varying from LEDCs to
MEDCs are beginning to rely more on Networked Information Systems (NIS) that are inherently
vulnerable to an attack electronically. As dependence increases, so does the results of attacks
become gradually more disruptive. The characteristics of these systems and possible forms of
the electronic attack suggest that the simplicity of carrying out attacks is improved. It is
challenging to identify intruders and to differentiate between electronic thieves at one end of the
spectrum and State assailants opposingly.
Economic globalisation and the extensive spread of information technologies and
developments in the global media mean that, on the one hand, it becomes increasingly hard for
states to impose controls on the media to which their citizens are exposed to. On the other,
arguably, it is getting progressively easier for states or groups to use propaganda,
disinformation or psychological operations to achieve their strategic, political or economic
objectives.
The information revolution and other strategic pressures within Western armed forces
and defence policies are leading to a phenomenon often referred to as a Revolution in Military
Affairs (RMA). This involves the exploitation of advanced technologies to develop new rules,
organisations and methods of war that allow traditional armed forces to be smaller, more lethal,
operate quicker and to react more rapidly over long distances.

Key issues:

The Surveillance Industry

The Surveillance Industry in the expanding surveillance industry, it is common to spy on
citizens. The United States, British and Allied intelligence powers are promptly to begin on a
considerable improvement of their global electronic surveillance system. This will allow the
agencies to monitor modern communications between residents; Many high-end technologies
protect various agencies; however, are no resolution taken against them. For example, Project
415, a highly private surveillance system, is able to hack countless calls annually pertaining to
the UK. They rely on signals from satellites to locate and target people. With their completion, it
has lead to partners inside of the project to encourage other computer centres on how to carry
out international interceptions, spreading the skills of hacking worldwide, with no control.

Public Awareness
 The scandals about governments taking unauthorised information from its citizens lead
to general awareness about rights to privacy; as a result, the trust between the nation's
government and its people was broken; therefore, the public continues to demand more
transparency on this matter. Moreover, it directed people to accept that their private information
could not be trusted on digital media anymore. Despite the significant increase in the use of
modern technology, it is feared that it will not be used widely enough due to concerns regarding
violations of privacy, which also prevents true freedom of expression. The acts of the
government directly contradict what is stated in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Blocking U.S Spies

There is already an attempt of preventing US spies from hacking into telecommunication
in the Russian Federation. Current Russian President, Vladimir Putin, approved a regulation
that commands Internet companies to collect and store Russian citizens' personal data; This
law is altering the rules of processing personal data and information in the current digital era of
the 21st century. Any workers on personal data will be required to keep this inside of Russia by
using home databases. Yevgeny Fedorov, a Russian politician, stated, "that is where the
censorship and revision of the events are taking place in Russia are coming from. All the data is
stored and used against Russia. To go against this critical issue, taking these under a national
intention would be triumphant." Their main intention is to restrict US spies from hacking into the
country's telecommunication networks. This will have a tremendous influence on various social
media and as they would require to modify their policies in order to run it much more
successfully without the demerit of its use. It will be challenging to transmit international
communications through the internet. Instead, on social networking sites such as Russia's
'Vkontakte' will benefit from this change, and hopefully secure citizen's private personal
information.

Major parties involved and their views:

Germany:
Germany's 2016 National Cyber Security Strategy emphasises, among other things,
going for the raising of cyber capacities in other countries. As a result, the German Government
has chosen to work via establishing a German Institute for International Cyber Security- an
independent partner for the private sector, academia and civil society organisations.
United Arab Emirates:
A key element in the UAE government methodology has been to get the legal structure
reasonable. This has been due to the new lawful system with TRA publishing a few trends to
encourage progressions in the ICT division. The activity aims to create services that would
assure enrichment in the national Government's operational and administration proficiency: one
of the major strengths of the UAE Government Strategy. Besides, it means to heighten the
personal satisfaction for UAE nationals, and additionally for rejections, following the nation's
Vision 2021. Sheik Mohammed launched the path by addressing an email message of his
appreciation to five administrative matters for leading the pack in the improvement of taxpayer-
supported organisations.
Most importantly, locals can connect with the Ministry of Labor, Electricity and Water
Authority, the Sheik Zayed Housing Program, the National Transport Authority and the Ministry
of the Interior. The point is to improve the administrations being carried by experts and
specialists, enabling citizens to offer information to the specialist organisations and in this
process, improving their very own personal satisfaction.

United Kingdom:
Hackers predominantly influence the UK often. They are the prime subject to Project
415, and the UK has billions of phone calls hacked annually. Moreover, regarding a poll in 2014,
92% of internet users in the UK were not confident or disturbed on their privacy online. The UK
citizens are displaying awareness of their situation on the internet, urging the will to convert this
problem into a more beneficial one. The locals have begun to delete cookies, changing privacy
settings and browsing privacy policies.

Canada:
As the Canadian Government published its Cyber Security plan in 2010, it has made
further attempts to improve and ensure Canada's cyber systems and defend their citizens online
on the internet or any telecommunication methods. As described in the progress plan 2010 to
2015 for Canada's Cyber Security strategy, the Canadian Government has been involved in
promoting innovative approaches to sustain and strengthen Canada's Strategy. Few of the
outcomes produced to date include promoting engagement with significant infrastructure
associations; originating the "Get Cyber Safe" public awareness campaign and supporting the
abilities of the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC). The Strategy has also
promoted collaboration and information sharing, which Canada views as our best defence in a
rapidly evolving threat environment. The Government recently finalised a reflection of present
solutions to avoid Canadians and their critical infrastructure from cyber threats. The feedback
received through consultations that took place as part of this review will inform Canada's new
approach to cybersecurity, which is set to be released in 2017.

Timeline of relevant resolutions, treaties, and events:

Date Description

1979 The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT) was

found by the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(UNESAP), and the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU)

1999 The intergovernmental organisation,

International Mobile Satellite Organization
(IMSO), an intergovernmental organisation
that supervises specific public satellite safety
and security communication services
provided via the satellites is introduced to the
public.

November 30th 2012 ITU(International Telecommunication Union),

Proposals Received from ITU Member states
for the work of the conference

December 2012 A conference on International

Communications (WCIT) was organised in
Dubai by the International Telecommunication
Union(ITU) for the introduction of a treaty.
The United Kingdom and the United States
have refused to sign this communications
 treaty about the calls for all states to have
equal rights to the governance of the internet.

Evaluation of previous attempts to solve the issue:

The issue of information security has been discussed since the year 1998; The Russian
Federation introduced a draft resolution on the question on International ICT security at the
United Nations in the General Assembly 1 Committee. It was then adopted without voting by the
General Assembly as resolution 53/70. Since 2004, five Groups of Governmental Experts
(GGE) have studied the possible threats caused by the use of Information and Communication
technologies in the context of international security and how these threats should be resolved in
the most beneficial way.
Three of these groups have agreed on respectable reports with conclusions and
recommendations that have been embraced by all UN Member States. Furthermore, each GGE
built on the previous resolutions, making significant cumulative progress on the issues at hand.
The GGE reports have been accepted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. To
specify, the 2015 resolution of the GGE was adopted by consensus in resolution 70/237. This
resolution "calls upon the Member States to be guided in their use of information and
communications technologies by the 2015 report of the Group of Governmental Experts."

Possible solutions:
Discussions on ICT use in the context of international security needs to include the full
UN association. In addition, the need for continued expert discussion on the basis of decision
making remains. Germany strongly supports building a UN architecture to this end, including the
enhancement of the Secretariat's capacities and the founding of a special adviser to the
Secretary-General on developments in the field of information and telecommunications,
regarding international security. Beyond states, other actors share in the responsibility for
forming and maintaining a secure ICT environment: The IT Industry, the academic and science
communities as well as users. Any solutions taken by the international community to intensify
information security at a global level should ensure that these stakeholders' inputs are taken,
within their respective roles and responsibilities. Possible measures could include the goal to
establish an advisory board for the Secretary-General that can represent a wide variety of
stakeholder communities.

Bibliography:
https://www.un.org/disarmament/ict-security/
http://www.unidir.org/files/medias/pdfs/developments-in-the-field-of-information-and-
telecommunications-in-the-context-of-international-security-2012-2013-a-68-98-eng-0-518.pdf
https://ict4peace.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Eneken-GGE-2012-Brief.pdf
http://www.unidir.org/files/publications/pdfs/icts-and-international-security-en-332.pdf
https://www.icm2016.org/IMG/pdf/new_tech_paper.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_and_communication_technologies_for_development
http://www.pasmun.com/uploads/5/8/1/0/58103337/ga1_jessica.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328789396_The_Right_to_Privacy_in_the_Digital_Ag
e
https://www.austrade.gov.au/Australian/Export/Export-markets/Countries/Singapore/Industries
https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/DigitalAge/ReportPrivacyinDigitalAge/PiratePartiesInt
ernational.pdf
https://www.un.org/disarmament/ict-security/\
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-telecom-treaty/global-telecom-treaty-without-net-controls-
signed-by-89-nations-idUSBRE8BD18820121214
https://phys.org/news/2012-12-nations-controversial-telecom-treaty.html
https://ccdcoe.org/incyder-articles/updating-international-telecommunication-regulations-at-wcit-
2012-relevant-for-cyber-security/