Domestic Efforts at Governing Cyberspace

Many national governments have a set of laws governing cyberspace. The problem with these laws is that they are domestic and not-binding on other countries. Therefore, what is needed is an international law that harmonizes domestic laws, and sets up an international CERT.

This article is a case in point for why international negotiations have to take place in order to secure cyberspace.

It has been suggested that more cybersecurity laws here will help with computer security. Thompson and I agreed on a view about that. It's a waste of time to pass laws in the US that can't or won't be enforced in Russia or China.

Of course, there can be economic carrot and sticks associated with a country abiding by U.S. cyber-law. That is, if you obey the U.S. cyber-law then you will have access to advanced technology, if not, then you will be sanctioned. That is the black and white view at least.

Governing Cyberspace

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a two phase conference from which the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) emerged.

Such international efforts are important since they lay the groundwork for a future convention that will try to govern what can be called global cyberspace. Such governance is not only aimed at securing cyberspace from criminal and terrorist misuse, but also to assure that the developing world will be able to exploit cyber-resources.

Lets wish them luck, visit their sites, and contribute to their mission. After all, we too are members of the “interested stakeholders” which the The World Summit on the Information Society identifies as one player in the development of Internet governance structures.

E-Compliance

The E-Compliance: Towards a Roadmap for Effective Risk Management is an interesting article on information law.

From the abstract:

The article starts with a brief overview of what we might describe as a shift from traditional compliance to e-Compliance. It then maps the central themes of E-Compliance and the characteristics of a comprehensive E-Compliance strategy. After discussing the key challenges of E-Compliance, the article outlines practical guidelines for the management of E-Compliance activities and ends with recommendations