Tech giants sign cybersecurity accord
Thirty-four major technology companies have signed a landmark agreement not to assist any government in launching cyber attacks against citizens and enterprises and to mount a stronger defence against such attacks.
The companies — which include Microsoft, Facebook and Cisco — signed the new Cybersecurity Tech Accord this week.
Under the accord, the parties have also agreed to take collective action to mitigate cyber threats, including by coordinating on vulnerability disclosures and sharing threat information.
Other planned collaborative efforts include joint development of new security practices and features and working with stakeholders to minimise the potential for malicious code to be introduced into cyberspace.
Other private sector organisations regardless of size or industry sector will be able to sign on to the accord, as long as they have high security standards and agree to adhere entirely to the accord’s principles.
Other signatories include Juniper Networks, SAP, HP, HPE, Oracle, ARM, Dell, VMware, CA Technologies, LinkedIn and Stripe.
Security companies Symantec, FireEye, Bitdefender, Avast, F-Secure and Trend Micro have also signed the pledge.
Microsoft President Brad Smith, who led the effort to establish the alliance, said the commitment was needed in light of the growing scale and sophistication of cyber threats. Total economic losses from cyber attacks for organisations of all sizes are expected to reach US$8 trillion ($10.26 trillion) by 2022, according to Juniper Research.
“The devastating attacks from the past year demonstrate that cybersecurity is not just about what any single company can do but also about what we can all do together,” he said. “This tech sector accord will help us take a principled path towards more effective steps to work together and defend customers around the world.”
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