The Cybersecurity Tech Accord is proud to launch today our Year Seven Annual Report highlighting the key initiatives of our coalition from our seventh year in existence.
Much has changed over the past seven years, since 34 global technology and security companies signed the Cybersecurity Tech Accord in 2018: a unique agreement among an ambitious industry coalition committing to defend all customers everywhere from cyberattacks, regardless of where they originate, and to not participate in offensive cyber operations.
Since 2018, the global cybersecurity landscape has only grown in complexity – a direct result of the geopolitical instability the world has been experiencing, which could not leave the cyber realm unaffected. The number and sophistication of cyber- attacks has continued to rise globally, amplifying the urgency of taking a unified approach on cybersecurity at the international level. While rapid advancements in new and emerging technologies such as AI present a transformative potential for cybersecurity defenders, these new technologies have also meant an increase in the potential attack surface for malicious actors. As more and more organizations race to adopt AI in their operations, cybercriminals are also finding new ways to use AI to exploit vulnerabilities and enhance their attacks. The borderless nature of the internet and the global adoption of AI technology mean that governments and industry must recognize the imperative of robust AI cybersecurity and work together to ensure that the balance is shifted on the side of the defenders.
Amidst these growing concerns, the Cybersecurity Tech Accord has continued to play a unique and important role as the voice of the technology industry on matters of peace and security online. We are proud to have continued to grow and that we have become one of the largest industry-led efforts of this kind, and we resolve to continue to focus on improving standards for cybersecurity through multistakeholder cooperation. Some of our key initiatives from the past year include launching our “Cybersecurity Tech Accord in the Age of AI” blog series, exploring challenges and opportunities for industry brought by the advent of this technology.
We have also continued to consistently engage in relevant dialogues at the United Nations on Internet governance including the Open-Ended Working Group on ICT and the UN Convention on Cybercrime, continuing our efforts to push for more inclusive multistakeholder processes at the UN. Another area of pressing concern has been the need to update international protections to reflect the new reality of warfare in the 21st century, which now often includes a cyber component. With this consideration in mind the Cybersecurity Tech Accord endorsed the Red Cross Digital Emblem pledge, aiming to provide key industry support for a critical initiative: the creation, by the Red Cross, of a distinctive digital emblem to serve as a cyberspace analog to the traditional red cross, red crescent and red crystal emblems.
In 2024, we also continued to assess the global state of cybersecurity through our annual State of International Cybersecurity Thermometer, an assessment made by our community taking stock of the current state of conflict and security online. This year, our assessment found that peace and security online has remained stable at 101 degrees – a concerning state, showing no significant improvement, despite some slow progress.
As the world continues to grapple with the reality of new threats, greater instability, and complexity in the cyber domain, the Cybersecurity Tech Accord intends to remain a reliable and consistent advocate in support of developing meaningful multistakeholder solutions, and a trusted source of industry expertise.
The Cybersecurity Tech Accord Secretariat