Defending Cyberspace? Developing a National Cybersecurity Strategy

The Guide was developed through an iterative approach, is based on existing resources, and aims to facilitate its use by national stakeholders. While focused on national cybersecurity strategy, The Guide may be beneficial for cybersecurity, information governance, and legal discovery professionals considering cybersecurity, cyber preparedness, and resilience strategies.

Guide

Guide to Developing a National Cyber Security Strategy (Second Edition)

Attribution: Commonwealth Secretariat (ComSec), the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), Deloitte, Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC), Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), Global Partners Digital (GPD), International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Microsoft, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), Potomac Institute for Policy Studies (PIPS), RAND Europe, World Bank, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), United Nations University (UNU). 2021. Guide to Developing a National Cybersecurity Strategy 2nd Edition – Strategic engagement in cybersecurity. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 IGO (CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO).

Guide Extract

Since its creation, Information and Communication Technology has evolved to become the backbone of modern business, critical services and infrastructure, social networks, and the global economy as a whole.

As a result, national leaders have started to launch digital strategies and to fund projects that increase Internet connectivity and leverage the benefits stemming from the use of ICTs, to stimulate economic growth, to increase productivity and efficiency, to improve service delivery and capacity, to provide access to business and information, to enable e-learning, to enhance workforce skills and to promote good governance. Countries cannot ignore the opportunities associated with becoming connected and participating in the Internet economy.

While the reliance of our societies on the digital infrastructure is growing, technology remains inherently vulnerable. The confidentiality, integrity and availability of ICT infrastructure are challenged by rapidly evolving risks, including electronic fraud, theft of intellectual property and personal identifiable information, disruption of service, and damage or destruction of property. The transformational power of ICTs and the Internet as catalysts for economic growth and social development are at a critical point where citizens’ and national trust and confidence in the use of ICTs are being eroded by cyber-insecurity.

To fully realize the potential of technology, states must align their national economic visions with their national security priorities. If the security risks associated with the proliferation of ICT-enabled infrastructure and Internet applications are not appropriately balanced with comprehensive national cybersecurity strategies and resilience plans, countries will be unable to achieve the economic growth and the national security goals they are seeking.

In response, nations are developing both offensive and defensive capabilities to defend themselves from illicit and illegal activities in cyberspace and to pre-empt incidents before they can cause harm to their nations. This document will look specifically at defensive responses, particularly in the form of national cybersecurity strategies.

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