Countries Should Work on Cyber Norms to Protect Infrastructure – Washington

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — International community should work together on implementing cyber norms and concur not to attack critical infrastructure, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco said at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington, DC.

“We’ve got to do more work on galvanizing international cyber norms. Things like getting the international community to all agree and sign up to the fact that we are not going to commit a cyberattack on critical infrastructure, another country or state’s critical infrastructure,” Monaco said Tuesday.

Foreign allies from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States held a meeting in London on February 6, and discussed addressing emerging cyber threats to critical infrastructure and collaboration on information sharing on intelligence. The ministers reaffirmed the importance of working collaboratively on national security, according to the US Department of Homeland Security statement released following the meeting.

In January, the United States and the United Kingdom governments announced that they were going to establish a joint cyber cell that would help two countries improve cooperation on cybersecurity. Two countries are also planning to hold joint cyber defense exercises this year.

Cyberattacks have increased dramatically over the past decade, and led to exposure of sensitive personal, business and government information, including critical operations disruption, according to the Department of Homeland Security.