Lunch side-event to the UN OEWG on Security of and in the Use of ICTs

As side-event to the UN Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on security of and in the use of ICTs, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute – in collaboration with the US State Department’s Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy – is pleased to invite you to a panel discussion on ICT-enabled theft of intellectual property (IP).

IP is a major engine of global economic growth, and the theft of innovation is costing economies – advanced and emerging – billions of dollars. With the use of digital technologies by companies, universities and research institutes to disseminate information, communicate, and generate knowledge, cyber-enabled threats to innovation have skyrocketed.

This growing dependence on safe and secure ICTs is accentuating a long-standing malicious practice: that of state-sponsored theft of IP via cyber means for commercial purposes.

In 2015, the G20 leaders agreed states should refrain from ICT-enabled theft of trade secrets and sensitive business information for commercial gain, but nearly ten years later cyber-enabled IP theft has rapidly proliferated, expanded in geographic scope and deepened in intensity. Today, emerging economies are the largest victims and targets.

During this lunch event, ASPI intends to facilitate a constructive dialogue with representatives of UN member states on the basis of a two-year capacity-building project. Speakers will discuss current state practice, the application of the UN normative framework, and requirements for additional guidance through the UN OEWG process.

Program

Opening remarks

13.15 – 13.20 Welcome remarks – ASPI

13.20 – 13.30 Keynote – US State Department

Discussion

13.30 – 14.00 Panel discussion with UN member state representatives, moderated by ASPI

14.00 – 14.15 Q&A

14.15 – 14.30 Closing Remarks and Takeaways.

The event is open to all OEWG delegations and other members of the multistakeholder community.