About the 2014 Cyber Norms Workshop

The Cyber Norms Workshop 3.0, April 7-8, 2014, is the third in a series which provides opportunities for computer and social scientists, cyber security practitioners, government officials (past and present) and legal scholars, from liberal democracies, to discuss the need and possibilities for specific international norms at behavioral, policy and technology planes. The discussions are motivated by their recognition that appropriate norms can be vital contributions to securing cyberspace and to preventing deterioration of international security, cooperation and freedom, in consequence of cyberspace activities.

In view of recent and considerable challenges and changes in cyberspace, the workshop has been organized under the rubric of "norms and other sources of stability in cyberspace." "Other" here includes confidence building measures, greater transparency regarding states intentions for exploitation of cyberspace, international cooperation for cyber crises management, potential changes in Internet governance and the possibility of an international standard for protection of personal data and/ or limiting mass surveillance.

Unlike many conferences and meetings on the Internet and cyberspace, the workshop does not involve formal presentations or speeches. Instead in each of its ninety minute sessions, a single topic to be considered. During the first half of a session, a set of four to six panelists respond to topic-framing questions, which they and the organizing committee have previously developed. The floor is then open to other participants' question and comments. To facilitate the discussions, the workshop's attendance is limited to 50 people and it is conducted under a modified Chatham House rule which bars quotation and attribution of what is said. The ideas and views generated at the workshop will be disseminated through the professional links and activities of the participants, many of whom are involved in cyber policy making, and through summaries of the discussions. These, scrubbed of personal identifiers, will be available on the workshop website once it is over.

Organizing Committee

    • Phillippe Baumard, École Polytechnique
    • Chris Bronk, Rice University
    • Ronald Deibert, co-chair, University of Toronto
    • Martha Finnemore, George Washington University
    • Sandro Gaycken, Freie Universität Berlin
    • Duncan Hollis, Temple University Law School
    • Roger Hurwitz, co-chair, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Nigel Inkster, International Institute for Strategic Studies
    • James Lewis, Center for Strategic and International Studies
    • John Mallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Joseph Nye, co-chair, Harvard University
    • Harvey Rishikof, Drexel University
    • Eneken Tikk-Ringas, International Institute for Strategic Studies

Sponsors

  • The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
  • The Canada Centre for Global Security Studies, University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.
  • Explorations in Cyber International Relations (ECIR), a joint Harvard-MIT research project.
  • Microsoft Corporation’s Office of Global Security Strategy and Diplomacy (GSSD).
  • The Minerva Research Initiative, United States Department of Defense.
  • The MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).
  • The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
  • The organizing committee also recognizes the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security for its assistance.