The Internet has had a profound impact on every aspect of modern life. While on the one hand it enhances human welfare, it also brings new security problems and challenges. The issue of cyber security is becoming ever more prominent.
Cyber security is a comprehensive issue confronting all countries in the world today. It presents a number of complexities: it is transnational and anonymous; it involves multiple fields and multiple agencies; there is a coexistence of hardware and software; there is an overlap of the virtual world and reality. From stealing private information to conducting cyber fraud, from international hacker attacks to paralyzing infrastructure operation, every country is facing new cyberspace threats.
In recent years there has been a growing debate in the international community on rules and order in the cyber world. The discussion largely focuses on three essential contradictions.
The first, a conflict between peace and war: while most countries in the world adhere to the peaceful use of cyber space, some are expanding their cyber forces and seeking a legal basis for ‘cyber war’.
The second, a conflict between management in accordance with the law and absolute liberty: most countries call for management of cyber space public order in accordance with the law, while some use the Internet for the purposes of infiltration and destructive activities.
The third, a conflict between democracy and hegemony: most countries would welcome the establishment of an international cyberspace governance system in accordance with the principles of justice, democracy and transparency, while some try to circumvent international governance to try to make permanent their monopoly position in Internet infrastructure management and technical norms.
China is committed to safeguarding safety and peace in cyberspace and always plays an active role in any international cooperative initiative aiming to enhance international Internet governance.
In 2011 China and Russia jointly submitted a proposal entitled: “International Code of Conduct for Information Security”. This is the first systematic and comprehensive initiative offering proposals for the establishment of cyber rules. It is a considered Chinese plan which offers public security solutions for the common concerns of the international community. The document highlights the common international expectation of building a peaceful, safe, open and cooperative cyber space.
The disclosure of NSA's PRISM espionage program shows that some countries are taking advantage of the vacuum in cyber space rule and Internet secrecy to preserve their position of superiority to other countries in politics, economics and military power.
The interconnected nature of cyber space determines that no country can manage alone. Double standards, groundless smears, and deliberate evasion of the rules can only make the situation worse for all involved. Only if all countries have the good faith to use cyber space peacefully, strengthen cooperation and coordination, implement practical cooperation and make their contribution to the improvement of international rules, can worldwide internet security be guaranteed.
Edited and Translated by Yao Chun, People's Daily Online
Read the Chinese version: 填补网络空间“规则空白”
, source: People's Daily, author: Zhong Sheng
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