Statement delivered by Italy at the Security Council – Meeting in Arria Formula on “Cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure” —
Mr President, thank you for organizing this important and timely meeting. Italy strongly commends the Indonesian Presidency as well as the Permanent Missions of Belgium, Estonia and Vietnam for this initiative and, while aligning itself to the statement delivered by the European Union, wishes to make some additional remarks in its national capacity.
Mr President, Cyber attacks by State and non-State actors are on the rise. Critical infrastructures and essential services are increasingly at risk of malicious activities. Urgent action is therefore needed to tackle these threats and to ensure the stability of cyberspace. We praise the members of the Security Council for their continuing attention to this matter. In our view, cyber security cannot be addressed separately from old and emerging threats to world stability and peace. We strongly praise the work carried out by the OEWG on cyber security and by its chair and we sincerely hope it will conclude its mandate with a positive, relevant outcome.
Mr President
Increasing global resilience, especially in times of pandemics, is crucial for cyber security. Within the EU, Italy supports a range of programs and initiatives to assist countries in developing the capabilities to address cyber incidents, whether through direct engagement, bilateral contacts or engagement through regional and multilateral institutions.
In order to enable all States to properly face the above mentioned threats, we must ensure that those who operate essential services and critical infrastructures are protected from hacking and other cyber risk. In this respect, we stress the need to ensure higher coherence and coordination in the various capacity building initiatives taking place at the regional, sub-regional and bilateral level. We feel that the UN can play a significant role in this matter, by developing, in agreement with Member States and regional organizations, a systematic monitoring, reporting and verification system. The UN could also support regional organizations and Member States in setting up short and long-term goals, as well as in defining the purpose and principles of the capacity building initiatives.
Let me conclude, Mr President, by recalling that 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of UNSC Res 1325, women, peace and security. We feel that we should collectively devise strategies to make sure that SDG n. 5 is also pursued with a view to bridging the gender digital divide, to enabling women to be actors of cyber stability and to mitigating the consequences they suffer from malicious activities in cyberspace.
I thank you.
