By Ankit Panda
The United States and China are trying to put together a bilateral cyber arms control agreement. This could be big.
The New York Times‘ David Sanger reports that the United States and China are on the cusp of a bilateral arms control agreement concerning the first-use of cyber weapons against critical national infrastructure. Such an agreement would the first of its sort, and potentially a major development between the United States and China. Tensions between the two countries have been high over U.S. accusations that China regularly engages in state-sponsored cyber attacks and cyber espionage against U.S. targets.
Per Sanger’s reporting, it appears that the agreement under consideration would exclude cyber espionage and attacks resembling last year’s attack against Sony Pictures, an attack that was allegedly carried out by an independent hacker group with North Korean backing. Sanger clarifies that the agreement will concern attacks on “power stations, banking systems, cellphone networks and hospitals.” In short, to compare with conventional threats, this agreement would preclude a first “strategic” cyber strike. U.S. and Chinese negotiators are working hastily to finalize an agreement, potentially to be announced at the conclusion of Xi Jinping’s looming state visit next week.
Read the full story at The Diplomat