Cybersecurity as a key issue for trade policy is a relatively new development. In the last few years there have been a number of news reports about various governments’ incorporating spyware, malware, or similar programs into computer-based products that are exported around the world. The governments typically have worked with private companies in their countries to do it. In the internet-of-things era, almost all products can be connected to the internet, and most of them can also be used for spying and other malicious activities. Furthermore, since data is considered a critical asset, services, from international banking to payment systems to consumer websites, are part of this too.
What Countries and Companies Can Do When Trade and Cybersecurity Overlap
Based on an analysis of 33 cases involving 19 countries.
January 04, 2019, Updated January 04, 2019
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Summary.
Cybersecurity as a key issue for trade policy is a relatively new development. In the last few years there have been a number of news reports about various governments’ incorporating spyware, malware, or similar programs into computer-based products that are exported around the world. And it is truly a global phenomenon: Researchers identified 33 cases, involving 19 countries, of a nation blocking the import of a product or service due to cybersecurity concerns. The researchers offer advice for how governments and companies should be thinking about this issue and a framework of possible actions to take.