IGF 2017 WS #31 Cybersecurity: Balancing security, openness, and privacy

Session Format: Round Table - 90 Min

Proposer:
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Stakeholder Group: Civil Society

Co-Proposer:
Country: Cameroon
Stakeholder Group: Civil Society

Speaker: George Sadowsky
Speaker: Michael Oghia
Speaker: Sylvia Cadena

Content of the Session:
Cybersecurity and the use of digital networks for ensuring individual security are increasingly of concern to all sectors of society. We see a rise in state-sponsored threats, hacktivism, citizens being surveilled, Internet of Things (IoT) being deployed with little or no security, and not only as an initiative from governments or security forces, but as a request from citizens and social groups interested in a more secure and safe environment as well.

Sometimes policy responses and measures to attain security, work against openness and privacy, however. We see many governments asking for ways to access users’ data or to surveil them in order to investigate crime. Sometimes encryption is seen by states as a hindrance to national security. It is therefore important that cybersecurity governance does not supersede other Internet governance issues. Cybersecurity mechanisms must not interfere with the ability to use the Internet to exercise rights to freedom of speech and privacy.On the other hand, users must answer the question of how much of their privacy and intimacy they are willing to sacrifice for greater security?

This workshop will serve as a good discussion platform for members of the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) as well as IGF participants who are interested in the topic. This session will focus on discussing how we ensure openness and privacy while looking seriously at cybersecurity issues as well.

This roundtable session will bring together subject matter experts and others interested in this topic to share new insights. The session will include the following:
- A moderator who will introduce the theme and the subject matter experts
- Subject matter experts will give initial remarks, focusing on one aspect of the theme. They will highlight the relationship between security and openness as well as the relationship between security and privacy, among others.
- The moderator will then lead a discussion with the participants around the table.
- The moderator will offer closing remarks.

Relevance of the Session:
The safety of netizens on the Internet and their trust of it will have a significant role on how the Internet impacts society, and economy going forward. Given the community’s desire to connect the next billion, ensuring that we generate collaborative, multistakeholder solutions to the privacy vs. security debate is paramount. Moreover, we posit that privacy and security are a false dichotomy, since they can coexist but require more dialogue in order to effectively address so that our digital future can be more secure by remain open.

This session will look into those questions and will help come up with an understanding on how we can find balance between these issues, as well as invite perspectives from across stakeholder groups.

Tag 1: Cybersecurity
Tag 2: Privacy
Tag 3: Openness

Interventions:
A roundtable is the format that is best suited to allow conversations among participants, on equal footing. We have selected a number of experts whose knowledge will help quicken the debate and open up to other participants around the table to share their views as well.

Each one of them will be sharing their expertise in this area, covering a specific aspect based on their background and expertise. Some of them will be from the technical community, using their technical background to discuss cybersecurity issues and how they affect the openness and privacy of communications/data. Others will be cyber security specialists and others from the civil society. We will also include someone from a law enforcement agency, such as EUROPOL or INTERPOL.

Their remarks will be followed by insights from other participants who will have equal right and who will also have an interest or experience in the area of cybersecurity. With the help of the moderator, the conversation will help members of the IGC and other participants understand the topic and share relevant examples and applications from their own contexts.

Diversity:
The session organizers are taking seriously the issue of diversity in planning this workshop. Among the two proposers, one has organised a session last year (2016), the other one has never been to any global IGF so this will be his first experience. He is really looking forward to it. Moreover, one of our co-organizers ( a lady) will be attending IGF 2017 as her second IGF but this will be the first session she is working on.

Our speakers will be coming from different backgrounds and regions. We have two speakers who are youth, the moderator being youth as well. Speakers are from Africa, America, Europe and South Asia which is a way for us to ensure everyone is included and we have insights from all over the world. They will not only be from civil society but we will have one form the technical community, another one bringing in legal expertise, etc.

The Internet Governance Caucus (IGC) is comprised of different people, from different regions with similar or different focus and expertise. Putting together this workshop proposal has been a collaborative work and we tried our best to include all possible voices into this workshop proposal and we look forward for it at the upcoming IGF.

Onsite Moderator: Arsene Tungali
Online Moderator: Renata Aquino Ribeiro
Rapporteur: Tomslin Samme-Nlar

Online Participation:
We will have a remote moderators (who also speaks Spanish) to ensure equal speaking opportunity for our remote participants. Since the IGC has many members that cannot make it to the global IGF, we intend to facilitate their participation as well using the remote participation facilities provided in the room. The discussion moderator will be checking with remote moderator to see whether there is anyone on the queue to be given space to either speak on the mic or send a text that will be read.

Discussion facilitation:
All participants in the room will be seated around the table, we will ensure there are microphones available to ensure everyone is able to have access to one and contribute. Subject matter experts as well as participants will have equal opportunity to be part of discussions. We value a round table format because we want to hear as many insights from everyone to enrich the debate. Our experts will be helping clarify some aspects of the discussions. Online members will be catered for as well.

Conducted a Workshop in IGF before?: Yes
Link to Report: http://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/index.php?q=filedepot_download/4098/252