An international strategy for cyberspace, featuring norms for responsible behavior to promote a secure, open Internet, was unveiled in Washington. The White House announcement Monday is the first time an administration attempted to lay out in one document the U.S. government's vision of cyberspace, The Washington Post reported.
"A new era of global engagement and vigilance has begun," Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said when discussing the strategy with U.S. and foreign officials and representatives from industry and civil society groups.
The document presents arguments that expanded access to secure networks is vital to economic prosperity, officials said. The strategy's release comes after the U.S. decision last year to change its position on cybersecurity by agreeing to work with other nations to reduce threats to computer networks, the Post said. The United States had resisted proposals that would limit possible military use of cyberspace.
"This is just the beginning of a conversation within governments, between governments, the private sector and beyond," Howard Schmidt, the White House cybersecurity coordinator, said during the presentation. The international strategy, meant to be a guide for more detailed policies, states the United States, along with other nations, will "oppose those who would seek to disrupt networks and systems, dissuading and deterring malicious actors, and reserving the right to defend these vital national assets as necessary and appropriate."
The document also said the United States will assist countries strengthen their capabilities to defend their networks and cultivate an open Internet. It said the development of norms should be based on principles such as states having the right of self defense that may be triggered by specific acts of cyberspace aggression and that states should work internally to help ensure the Internet is accessible to all.
