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The world needs a treaty to prevent cyber attacks becoming anall-out war, the head of the main UN communications and technologyagency warned Saturday.
International Telcommunications Union secretary general HamadounToure gave his warning at a World Economic Forum debate where expertssaid nations must now consider when a cyber attack becomes adeclaration of war.
With attacks on Google from China a major talking point in Davos,Toure said the risk of a cyber conflict between two nations grows everyyear.
He proposed a treaty in which countries would engage not to make the first cyber strike against another nation.
“A cyber war would be worse than a tsunami — a catastrophe,” the UNofficial said, highlighting examples such as attacks on Estonia lastyear.
He proposed an international accord, adding: “The framework would look like a peace treaty before a war.”
Countries should guarantee to protect their citizens and their rightto access to information, promise not to harbour cyber terrorists and“should commit themselves not to attack another.”
John Negroponte, former director of US intelligence, saidintelligence agencies in the major powers would be the first to“express reservations” about such an accord.
Susan Collins, a US Republican senator who sits on several Senatemilitary and home affairs committees, said the prospect of a cyberattack sparking a war is now being considered in the United States.
“If someone bombed the electric grid in our country and we saw the bombers coming in it would clearly be an act of war.
“If that same country uses sophisticated computers to knock out ourelectricity grid, I definitely think we are getting closer to saying itis an act of war,” Collins said.
Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer for Microsoft,said “there are at least 10 countries in the world whose internetcapability is sophisticated enough to carry out cyber attacks … andthey can make it appear to come from anywhere.”
“The Internet is the biggest command and control centre for every bad guy out there,” he said.
The head of online security company McAfee told another Davos debateFriday that China, the United States, Russia, Israel and France areamong 20 countries locked in a cyberspace arms race and gearing up forpossible Internet hostilities.
Mundie and other experts have said there is a growing need to policethe internet to clampdown on fraud, espionage and the spread of viruses.
“People don’t understand the scale of criminal activity on theinternet. Whether criminal, individual or nation states, the communityis growing more sophisticated,” the Microsoft executive said.
“We need a kind of World Health Organisation for the Internet,” he said.
“When there is a pandemic, it organises the quarantine of cases. Weare not allowed to organise the systematic quarantine of machines thatare compromised.”
He also called for a “driver’s license” for internet users.
“If you want to drive a car you have to have a license to say thatyou are capable of driving a car, the car has to pass a test to say itis fit to drive and you have to have insurance.”
Andre Kudelski, chairman of Kudelski Group, said that a new internetmight have to be created forcing people to have two computers thatcannot connect and pass on viruses. “One internet for secure operationsand one internet for freedom.”