Training

Bucharest, Romania

18 – 20 May 2022

Digital technologies such as information and communications technologies are constantly reshaping the cyberspace and are strongly related to diplomacy within the borderless global cyber ecosystem, offering new opportunities but also raising challenges to traditional activities. At the same time, cyberspace is raising a series of provocative issues, from Internet governance to cyber security, which require diplomacy-based strategies. As a practice, cyber diplomacy is the natural response to this increasing global relevance of cyberspace.

Through cyber diplomacy, state and non-state actors may collaborate in order to address the cyber dimensions of global conflicts, crimes, and information security.

This course had focused on the basic principles and pillars of diplomacy applied in cyberspace. Invited experts encouraged discussions and facilitated a greater understanding on this topic, sharing their knowledge with the participants.

The aim was to provide participants with skills and abilities to understand the digital tools in pursuing diplomatic objectives and to recognize and assess the challenges brought by the use of digital technologies within the sphere of diplomacy.

Furthermore, the course assisted participants in learning to apply digital diplomacy tools and develop effective strategies for managing the complex problems arising in the growing cyberspace.

At the end of this module, participants were able to:

  • identify the range of diplomatic tools;
  • develop digital diplomacy strategies in pursuit of broader foreign policy objectives;
  • identify key problems of internet governance and how diplomatic mind-sets and techniques can be applied to managing them;
  • distinguish between the different aspects of cybersecurity and the challenge they pose to governments, companies and society;
  • be able to apply diplomatic approaches to managing cybersecurity challenges.

Some of the topics that were addressed in the course:

  • Introduction and key concepts of the cyber-diplomacy;
  • Global and EU cyber environment – political implications;
  • Existing and Emerging New Threats;
  • International Law;
  • International Cooperation and Assistance in Capacity Building;
  • Cyberdefence and Cybercrime – building resilient cyber space;
  • Norms, rules, principles;
  • Cyber-diplomacy interaction with NIS;
  • Critical Information Infrastructures – a challenge to be met through diplomacy;
  • Hybrid Threats, Disinformation and Cyber-influence in the Context of Cyber Diplomacy;
  • Cyber Diplomacy toolbox in a nutshell;
  • Stability & Confidence Building through International Cooperation.