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Cyber, geopolitics and international law

ASPI Presents: The geopolitical and technical changes reshaping cyber risk

Speakers Bec Shrimpton, Dr Mart Noorma, Marcel de Vink, Johanna Weaver and Hugh Watson

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute is delighted to invite you to the event ‘The geopolitical and technical changes reshaping cyber risk'.

Held in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands, the Embassy of Croatia and the Embassy of Estonia in Australia, in cooperation with NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE), this event will consider how today’s geopolitical developments and deteriorating security environment impact the effectiveness of the approach set out by NATO allies and partners beyond the Alliance including Australia, and whether different times call for different instruments.

Following an address by the Director of the CCDCOE, Dr Mart Noorma, Director of ASPI’s The Sydney Dialogue Bec Shrimpton will lead a panel discussion with special guests:

  • Mr Marcel de Vink, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands
  • Ms Johanna Weaver, Director, Tech Policy Design Centre, Australian National University
  • Mr Hugh Watson, Assistant Secretary, Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology Branch, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
  • Ms Agnes Kasper, Chief of Law Branch, NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence

The shift of economic activity, communications, and virtually every aspect of our daily lives to the online world creates countless opportunities. However, our open economies and the increasing degree of dependence on web-enabled platforms and digitization more broadly makes modern societies increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks. Technology has become a key dimension of strategic competition, and cyber attacks are more and more a tool for state actors to control access to information, inflict harm on others, and advance their geopolitical and geo-economic goals. Wide access to cyber instruments such as malware at low costs and the steep rise in the number and range of new technologies that can be used in cyber operations are resulting in the proliferation of threats.

In response, countries that value openness, freedom and security online as well as offline have in recent years invested heavily in the development and application of rules of conduct in the cyber domain. The development of these ‘rules of the road in cyber space’, such as the UN normative framework for responsible behavior in cyber space, provide the foundation on which countries can be confronted when they threaten our national security through cyber operations.

Please note this is a hybrid event with the opportunity to attend in person or online. For guests attending in person, the event will be followed by a reception.

To attend the event online, register here.
To attend in person, register via the ‘register’ button above.

Speakers

Bec Shrimpton

Bec is Director Defence Strategy and National Security at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

Dr Mart Noorma

Dr Mart Noorma is the Director of NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) starting from August 2022.

Marcel de Vink

Mr Marcel de Vink is the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands.

Johanna Weaver

Professor Johanna Weaver is the founding Director of the Tech Policy Design Centre (TPDC) at the Australian National University. 

Hugh Watson

Hugh Watson is the Assistant Secretary for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).