Putin Says US & Russia Should Have A 'No Hacking' Agreement

Ahead of the US presidential election in November, the  Russian President Vladimir Putin is calling for a reset agreement between the two countries to prevent incidents in cyberspace. What Putin suggested to the US is that they should exchange guarantees of non-cyber interference in internal affairs, including in elections.

In a Kremlin written statement, Putin also called on all countries to seal a "global agreement on a political commitment of states on no-first-strike".

The risk of a large-scale confrontation in the digital and cyber domain is "one of today’s major strategic challenges", Putin stressed, noting that the key players in ensuring international information security (IIS) have "a special responsibility". 

"In this regard, we would like to once again address the US with a suggestion to agree on a comprehensive program of practical measures to reboot our relations in the field of security in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs)," Putin said.

Putin proposed to start from restoration and maintenance of a regular full-scale and high-level dialogue on the key issues of cyber security, including continuous contacts between Russian and US Nuclear Risk Reduction Centers, Computer Emergency Readiness Teams, as well as high-level officials in charge.

He also offered to conclude a bilateral inter-governmental agreement on preventing incidents in the information space, similar to the former Soviet-American Agreement on the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas signed in 1972.

"We call on the US to greenlight the Russian-American professional expert dialogue on IIS without making it a hostage to our political disagreements.

"These measures are aimed at building up trust between our States, promoting security and prosperity of our peoples. They will significantly contribute to ensuring global peace in the information space," Putin said.

"We would like to once again appeal to the United States with a proposal to approve a comprehensive program of practical measures to reset our relations in the use of information and communication technologies," he said.

He proposed the two countries reach an agreement to prevent major cyberspace incidents, something he compared to a 1972 US-Soviet treaty reached at the height of the Cold War to prevent incidents at sea and in the air from escalating. He also called for the two countries to fully restore communication lines between their respective agencies to discuss key international information on security issues.

Russia has denied it is attempting to interfere in the 2020 US campaign, despite evidence to the contrary.

The president has called on the countries of the world to reach a global agreement on no-first-strike in relation to cyberattacks. "Addressing all countries, including the US, we suggest reaching global agreement on a political commitment of States on no-first-strike with the use of ICTs against each other," he noted.

Reuters:       The Hill:       Anadolu Agency: 

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