Computer Firms Warn ITU Against Heavy Hand On Cybersecurity

Computer companies are warning against efforts at the International Telecommunication Union Plenipotentiary Conference (PP-14) in Busan, South Korea, to expand ITU's role in cybersecurity, privacy and technical coordination, saying ITU lacks both a "rapid" and "steady" commitment "of expertise and resources."

The Information Technology Industry Council -- whose members include Microsoft, Apple, Google, Dell, IBM, Samsung, Motorola, Qualcomm and a host of others -- said the following proposals should definitely not come out of the conference: binding treaties on international security or cybersecurity; any actions, like technical mandates—that reduce the flexibility of response to cybersecurity challenges; cybersecurity standardization including partnering with other standards development organizations, which works against "natural specialization" of self-organizing stakeholder groups.