CyberPeace Institute Formed to Help the Victims of International Cyberattacks

Some of the world’s leading cybersecurity and international policy experts have joined forces to create the CyberPeace Institute, a new NGO that will seek to mitigate the effects of major cyberattacks. Stéphane Duguin will come on as the organization’s CEO, while Marietje Schaake will serve as President and Chair of the Advisory Board.

Together, they will be asked to promote the Institute’s three primary objectives, which are Assistance, Accountability, and Advancement. The former refers to the organization’s ability to provide aid to the victims of cyberattacks, and to help vulnerable communities develop better cyber defenses.

Accountability is a call for greater transparency, achieved through better research practices and the investigation of criminal incidents. Advancement initiatives will encourage healthier online behavior through international policy creation and enforcement.

“Civilians are at ever greater risk of being targeted by cyberattacks that rage between states and non-state actors alike,” said Schaake. “We need de-escalation and a focus on peace in cyberspace.”

Schaake is a former Member of European Parliament and a member of Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center, while Duguin is the Head of the Europol Internet Referral Unit. The CyberPeace institute will have an eight-person executive board and a 14-person advisory board. The organization itself was launched with initial funding from Mastercard, Microsoft, and the Hewlett Foundation, in addition to other organizations.

Mastercard and Microsoft have pioneered a number of different cybersecurity initiatives over the past few years. Mastercard has partnered with Samsung to create device-based IDs, while Microsoft has been exploring decentralized identities with an open-source blockchain platform. The two companies have also collaborated on a digital identity service that would have a decentralized identity component.