Policy Brief

Tracking Cybersecurity Recommendations over the past three B20 Presidencies

Introduction

As global commercial flows become increasingly dependent on digital infrastructure, cybersecurity becomes a central focus of national and multilateral efforts to secure and protect sensitive data from malicious cyber actors and threats. Therefore, bodies such as the B20 have addressed and put forth solutions to improve global cybersecurity standards across multiple B20 presidencies and summits to protect corporate information and welfare on the digital front.

B20 recommendations on cybersecurity

B20 Indonesia: The B20 Indonesia Task Force on Digital Transformation recommended that G20 nations promote risk and evidence based interoperable and technology-neutral cybersecurity standards and best practices that support companies’ efforts to protect their networks¹.

Under the aegis of this recommendation, the B20 Indonesia Task Force on Digital Transformation recommends two key policy actions. First, the Task Force calls on G20 nations to define cybersecurity and cyber resilience interoperable standards and best practices using a risk, evidence-based, technology-neutral approach to all levels of the digital supply chain.

Second, the Task Force calls on the G20 to promote enhancement of cybersecurity standards through increasing awareness of security threats, addressing skill gaps, and mandating government contractors follow self-regulating cybersecurity standards. Moreover, under the second proposed policy action, the G20 would increase cross- border cooperation and implement universally recognizable norms, rules, and principles on cybersecurity.

The B20 Indonesia Task Force on Integrity and Compliance similarly recommended that the G20 strengthen governance to mitigate exacerbated cybercrime risk² . Under this recommendation, the Task Force recommends two key policy actions. First, the Task Force advocates for the G20 to rectify organizational governance structure by enhancing existing resources, strengthening capacity for technology foresight, and mitigating cybersecurity risks for MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium sized Enterprises). Second, the Task Force recommends extending multi-stakeholder cooperation for better cybercrime response by adopting a multilateral legal framework based on international cybersecurity best practices and enforcing collective action amongst G20 members against cyber threats.

B20 India: The B20 India Task Force on Digital Transformation built on the B20 Indonesia’s recommendations on cybersecurity by recommending that the G20 promote digital trust through developing harmonized cybersecurity standards and bridging cybersecurity skill gaps to enable digital trust and multilateral cooperation around cyber security³ . Under the aegis of this recommendation, the B20 India Task Force on Digital Transformation recommends three policy actions.

First, the Task Force recommends that G20 nations institutionalize a global body to harmonize and advocate for cybersecurity standards and to bring in a greater degree of multilateral cooperation for shared goals on cyber action. Second, the Task Force recommends that G20 nations work together to improve the trustworthiness of the global digital ecosystem and work towards promoting a cyber-inclusive future by advocating for cyber-awareness at a grassroots level.

Third, the G20 nations should bridge cybersecurity skills gaps by facilitating faster development of cybersecurity talent and cultivating a talent pipeline in the space. Moreover, G20 nations could invest significantly into cyber-skilling institutes, national cyber academies, and public-private partnerships and initiatives.

Additionally, the B20 India Task Force on Inclusive GVCs for Resilient Global Trade and Investment addressed cybersecurity with respect to supply chains in their policy paper⁴.

The Task Force encourages the G20 to encourage global coordination for cross-border data flows while keeping in mind cybersecurity, legal regulations, and preferences of individuals when developing global digital value chains. Moreover, the Task Force calls on G20 members to cooperate to address cybersecurity on a larger scale through developing and implementing agreements and partnerships on a multilateral level.

Finally, the Task Force on Tech, Innovation, and R&D recommended the development of a Virtual Digital Lab and Library to promote cross border collaboration on R&D⁵ . The Task Force issued potential actions that G20 members could take to safeguard this proposed Virtual Digital Lab. These include implementing robust cybersecurity measures like firewalls and encryption, conducting regular security audits, providing training and awareness programs, and collaborating with cybersecurity experts to address and combat cyber threats.

B20 Brazil: The B20 Brazil Task Force on Digital Transformation similarly recommended that G20 nations safeguard individuals and organizations and promote digital trust while enabling innovation and development by harmonizing cybersecurity and data protection standards, coordinating international cyber action, and enabling data free flow with trust.

Under this recommendation, the B20 Brazil Task Force on Digital Transformation recommends two key policy actions. First, the Task Force recommends that the G20 nations foster multilateral cooperation to improve international cyber action, specifically targeting incident prevention, identification, and containment to investigation and legal action. Moreover, the Task Force recommends leveraging harmonized cybersecurity and cyber resilience standards to improve transnational cyber action.

Second, the Task Force recommends progress on Data Free Flow with Trust by building on prior consensus while tailoring the approach to the G20 members to enable innovation, economic growth, and social wellbeing while building trust on a global scale. Under this policy action, the B20 Task Force proposes the following safeguards to protect user data, such as Privacy-enhancing technologies (PET), a repository of cross-border data transfer regulations, and contractual clauses to moderate data flow. In turn, these actions will protect sensitive information while increasing data free flow with trust.

Conclusion

The B20 has prioritized cybersecurity across multiple iterations in the recent years of the grouping. Recognizing the importance, value and role that data has in commerce, the B20 Secretariats of Indonesia, India, and Brazil have consistently recommended potential policy and transnational actions that G20 nations could take to secure sensitive information, protect digital stakeholders, and secure data free flow.

Therefore, the G20 could potentially act upon these policy recommendations to improve digital connectivity and security amongst member nations as well as within transnational blocs like the Africa Union and European Union, who are members of the G20. Moreover, by improving security and digital infrastructure, the G20 would increase trust and flows of e-commerce within the G20, which could translate to greater commercial activity and increased productivity across member nations.

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