CIAO DATE: 04/2011
September 2010
Russia and the United States have been unable to establish a common understanding in their bilateral diplomacy on most aspects of cybersecurity. In spite of a 1998 declaration of their interest in joint leadership of global responses to cybersecurity challenges, the two countries have acted more often than not like enemies guarding sensitive national security secrets rather than as allies committed to protecting common interests in the global digital economy and the socially networked world. There are compelling historical precedents to suggest that reservations in Russia and the United States that are rooted in national security sensitivities can be overcome. For example, in preparing for Y2K, there was a potential global threat and most countries cooperated despite national security sensitivities. Russia and the United States adopted very intrusive measures for joint monitoring of the most sensitive launch and warning procedures for ballistic missiles. More recently, the United States and Russia agreed on new joint encryption arrangements for the forty-year-old hotline between the Kremlin and the White House. Moreover, American and Russian banks already cooperate in secure digital communications for international transfers of staggeringly large sums of money.
Resource link: Russia, the United States, and Cyber Diplomacy: Opening the Doors [PDF] - 684K