Oleg Abdurashitov

2021: A year in cyber diplomacy

"Our focus is not on the country of origin, or the company, but it’s about what is the rule of law under which that product is potentially subject to.” – Chris Krebs, Head of the DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Just like oil, if not more so, data makes our world run. It’s not surprising then that all the new regulations – from Europe to Australia – attempt to answer who owns, controls and has access to data in a country-specific legal culture.

The ASEAN countries announced building vibrant digital economies as their priority and may well be on the path to build one of the world’s largest digital marketplaces.

Driven by countries’ national security concerns, the new cyberspace landscape is increasingly similar to the geopolitical one. The more powerful states have disproportionate advantages in technology, capabilities and willingness to exercise and leverage their influence, including offensive military and espionage operations. Contestant states and non-state actors are striving to catch up by enhancing their own offensive and defensive capacities, developing asymmetric means of cyber conflict and testing the limits of what is possible.