The GRC Summit brought together over 300 participants, including cybersecurity professionals, lawyers, diplomats, and technology innovators. Attendees explored emerging threats, compliance challenges, and cutting-edge practices in governance and risk as organizations adapt to a rapidly shifting regulatory and cybersecurity landscape.
Speaking on the panel “National and International Cybersecurity Strategies,” Els Debuf, Head of the ICRC’s Global Cyber Hub in Luxembourg, urged States and stakeholders to integrate humanitarian considerations and international humanitarian law into their cybersecurity strategies and risk management frameworks. She underscored several considerations including the spread of harmful content online, and how it can directly compromise people’s safety, dignity and access to essential services.
Debuf discussed the growing militarization of cyberspace is blurring the lines between combatants and civilians, and between military and civilian infrastructure—posing serious risks to international humanitarian law (IHL) protections. She further emphasized how connectivity restrictions and internet shutdowns play out in conflict situations, resulting in loss of life and injury, separation of families, disruption of access to essential services such as water, power and health services, and loss of livelihood.
The panel discussion also touched upon the importance of maintaining control over data and digital assets – an issue closely associated with the ICRC’s exclusive humanitarian mandate and its strong commitment to the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence and to its working modalities of proximity to people, do-no-harm and confidentiality.
From an operational standpoint, managing digital dependencies includes exploring open-source solutions for operation systems and ensuring the secure storage and handling of sensitive humanitarian data. Legally, it remains essential that the privileges and immunities granted to the ICRC and other international organizations continue to effectively safeguard them in the digital age.
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