The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov took part in the First CSTO International Conference on Cyber Security in Kyrgyzstan

The CSTO Secretary General Imangali Tasmagambetov took part in the First International Conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization on Cybersecurity, held in Cholpon-Ata, the Kyrgyz Republic.

Theses of Imangali Tasmagambetov's speech:

Dear colleagues, dear friends, partners,

I am glad to welcome You to the International Conference on Cybersecurity.

I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers of this event for the opportunity to exchange views on extremely sensitive issues of interaction in the cyber sphere. The Kyrgyz Republic, as the Chairman, initiated and took the trouble to organize this Conference, thereby demonstrating a highly responsible attitude to the Chairmanship of the Organization and a deep understanding of the problems of hybrid security. The importance of such meetings is difficult to overestimate: in such a dynamically developing world, modern states face a whole range of problems.

Dear Conference participants,

Cyberspace has long become another environment for human activity, human communities, states and non-state actors in international relations. In essence, it is a “new dimension” of military-political and socio-political space, very uniquely structured and designed, carrying a host of challenges and threats.

The world is moving towards digitalization, and in the foreseeable future, many processes and vital areas and spheres will be managed by algorithms. This automatically creates a threat of external interference not only for the purpose of appropriating resources, but also for the purpose of organizing systemic failures at critical infrastructure facilities – from energy enterprises to missile launch systems.

The key problem of developing this space, which knows no state borders, is defining the “rules of the game”. If for traditional areas of international interaction, the supporting structures are state sovereignty and international law, then in the case of cyberspace we cannot say that these structures even exist here and have any significance. Experts never tire of repeating that one of the key vulnerabilities of most modern technologically developed states is that they do not have digital sovereignty and that the process of developing the “rules of the game” in cyberspace is practically not developing. The reason for this is the tough position of the leading countries in this area: they reserve the right to act in accordance with their national interests and not allow anyone to limit these interests.

It is noteworthy that a number of large states from the so-called "global majority" are more successful in coordinating the rules of relations in the cyber environment. As an example, we can cite the Russian-Chinese Joint Statement on International Relations Entering a New Era and Global Sustainable Development 2022. For many years, in open forums, states of the "global south" have repeatedly expressed concern about the key role of the United States in Internet governance and emphasized the need to revise the existing model of cyberspace governance.

The situation is complicated by the fact that as the geopolitical confrontation escalates, the implementation of decisions that have been made at various UN venues since the 1990s is being slowed down: on the creation of an international order in the cyberspace sphere; on the prevention of the deliberate use of the territory of states to commit internationally illegal acts using information and communication technologies (ICT); on the responsible provision of information on vulnerabilities in the sphere of information and communication technologies (ICT), etc. We are witnessing the implementation of a unilateral policy in the field of cybersecurity and ignoring the interests of other players.

Thus, today we are talking about the projection of geopolitical conflicts onto cyberspace, which is one of its dimensions. For example, if a country rejects international law and pursues a policy of unilateral actions, then in the cyber environment it will rely on the so-called "rule-based order" that it creates itself. And the resistance of individual states to the development of a legal basis for relationships in the cyber environment in itself provokes the emergence of cyber threats.

Cyberspace has essentially become the fifth – after land, sea, air and space – environment of confrontation between various political and military forces and continues to be so. Moreover, the struggle between intelligence organizations of different countries, their military structures, as well as economic and information battles, including economic espionage, financial sabotage, and the organization of failures at critical infrastructure facilities, are unfolding precisely in cyberspace. Trying to counter cyber threats, modern states face difficulties in identifying the source and nature of threats, which has long been a factor in numerous domestic and international conflicts, mutual accusations and political confrontation.

In addition, among the problems of the development of the cyber environment and cybersecurity, it is appropriate to point out the policy of imposing double standards by certain international actors in defining cybercrimes and cyberterrorism.

Finally, today we are witnessing a kind of “arms race” in the field of cyber technologies, where each participant in the race realizes that the lag may have not only a socio-economic but also a military-political refraction, and leadership with a large margin practically guarantees both dominance in this sphere and, at the same time, impunity. It is important that there cannot be a mechanism of deterrence, characteristic, for example, of the sphere of strategic weapons. And this, in turn, creates the potential for the establishment of a “cyber-dictatorship”.

Dear colleagues,

this is only part of the extensive list of threats and challenges in the cyber sphere, to which we must find an effective response. In the new geopolitical conditions, these are tasks for regional security systems, whose responsibility has only increased in recent years.

It is obvious that cybersecurity cannot be perceived in isolation from other aspects and types of domestic and international security, but it must be considered as a special sphere with its own development trends and implementation tools. That is why issues of ensuring cybersecurity are today becoming the cornerstone in building collective security systems. The speed of development of information technologies and mechanisms of confrontation in the cyber environment are becoming critical factors in ensuring international security in the context of the formation of a polycentric world order.

Dear Conference participants,

taking into account the possibilities of such a representative meeting, I am making a proposal for cooperation and I emphasize the readiness of the CSTO Secretariat to cooperate in the field of ensuring cybersecurity in the Organization’s area of ​​responsibility.

Thank you for your attention and I wish you productive work at the Conference venues!