CRDF Global Hosts Cyber Diplomacy Panel to Kick Off Thought Leadership Series

On Wednesday, October 23, 2024, CRDF Global held the first event of its new Digital Dialogues thought leadership series, a discussion titled “Cybersecurity is Borderless; The World is Not,” which focused on the dynamic landscape of Cyber Diplomacy. Panelists Dr. Mircea Constantin-Scheau, President of the Cloud Security Alliance Romanian Chapter; Ambassador Floreta Faber, Deputy Director General for the National Cyber Security Authority in Albania; and Tina Dolph, President and Chief Operating Officer of CRDF Global shared their experiences working within the evolving nature of cyberspace governance, describing how it has developed and how it aligns with various national priorities and global responsibilities.

Over 100 participants joined the hybrid meeting, held in CRDF Global’s Arlington, Virginia office and available virtually. Moderator Tom Callahan, Senior Advisor at CRDF Global, opened the conversation about the delicate and shifting balance between cooperation, security, and national interests in the digital domain, citing specific incidents that quickly prompted new layers of diplomatic outreach and technical assistance and inviting guidance from the speakers’ respective domains.

In her remarks, Amb. Faber described in some detail the 2022 cyber attack in Albania that incapacitated the government’s ability to provide many civil services and the remediation that followed in the short and long-term. In hindsight, she believes that the immediate steps taken were correct, and in the years since, the government has substantially increased the human and technological resources to ensure that attacks will be met with larger and faster defenses, with the support of international allies and in close cooperation with them. Albania has been among the first in Europe to implement the EU Directive on the security of network and information systems, with more legislation on the way, and the government has attracted top talent to its cybersecurity staff to ensure continued resiliency against future attacks.

Tina Dolph compared the attack and subsequent response in Albania to the ransomware attack against the Costa Rican government in the same year, and the dangerous misinformation campaign launched through social media channels that sowed distrust and further chaos among the population. CRDF Global became involved in the United States’s diplomatic response via the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy and worked closely with the Costa Rican government to not only recover from the attack but support the implementation of world-class security operation centers and accompanying training that will protect against future attacks.

Though each country’s legal mechanisms and security infrastructure differed, both instances highlighted the need for investing in workforce development and increased security cultures, recognizing that cybersecurity is no longer the sole responsibility of an IT department, but truly the responsibility of every member of an organization. The conversation also revealed the alarming profile of cyber attacks today: silent and undetectable in many cases, and constant in nature.

Dr. Constantin-Scheau added an illuminating perspective from his extensive research on illicit financial transactions, information technology, and cybersecurity. He described the impacts of money-laundering as a result of cybercrime and the growing call for organizational and international countermeasures against these financial crimes, which are used to fund even more nefarious purposes, making a strong case for increased international cooperation and information sharing.

The session concluded with panelists pointing out the benefits that would come from increased collaboration across all fronts: public / private partnerships, international sharing of best practices and security standards, diplomatic relationships that enable swift assistance in areas of critical and sensitive national infrastructure, and increased adoption and training around cyber resilience. CRDF Global thanks its guest panelists for their time, insights, and expertise, and look forward to continuing discussions along these and similar themes in upcoming sessions of our Digital Dialogues series.