UN takes new step towards international cybercrime treaty

Cyberspace is often a prolific theater for espionage, blackmail, misinformation and aggression, often at the initiative of states or other groups. — Dreamstime/TNS

UNITED NATIONS, United States: The UN General Assembly adopted on May 26 by consensus a resolution proposed by Russia to draft a treaty against cybercrime by 2023, an initiative viewed with suspicion by Western nations who fear it could restrict free expression.

Called “Countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes”, the resolution – co-drafted with Equatorial Guinea – focuses on the work of a special committee launched in 2019.