Introduction
Following the WannaCry attack last year which affected numerous machines running on Windows, the global community has decided to take a stance against malicious cyber attacks. The strike cost the health care sector more than $100 million and disrupted the information telecommunication systems in 150 countries. This year, 51 nations have signed a ‘Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace’ as their way to fight cybersecurity scares.
What is the Paris Call?
It’s a declaration launched on 12 November 2018 by president Macron of France that seeks to come up with a clear set of rules on how cybersecurity will be handled around the world. It creates guidelines on the use of cyber weapons and internet privacy. On the day of its launch, 51 states, including all EU countries, were in favor of its adoption. However, the United States, Russia, and China didn’t sign the agreement, citing their reservations on regulating the use of cyber weapons.
The French government believes that a cyber war can be catastrophic, and that’s why they came up with the declaration. They want countries to play fair in case a war ever broke out and avoided attacking any means of communication that could be useful to the citizens. The declaration also seeks to define the conditions that would warrant a retaliatory state-backed cyber attack. There need to rule that govern how states handle cyber threats, especially if there’s sufficient evidence to show that one country was actively involved in the attack.
It’s widely believed that numerous countries have created cyber weapons to protect their systems from catastrophic cyber attacks. As a result, there need to be laws that govern the use of these weapons because they have the potential to destroy lives.
Conclusion
It is imperative for those in charge of policymaking should always remember that the needs of their citizens come first and they ought to do their best to protect them. It is necessary to remember that even the cyber-world equates to and can provide complication to every day human life.