The Role of BRICS in the International ICT Security Regime

Abstract

The ubiquitous implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is giving rise to cross-border security threats that require joint international responses. Fragmentation and growing conflict in the global information space complicates international cooperation within the UN to form a comprehensive global information security regime. Western countries actively support the formation of a cyber security regime based on Western values and promoted as a general initiative of the international community without taking into account the position of developing countries. An alternative approach focused on securing digital sovereignty is being promoted by many non-Western negotiating platforms, among which the BRICS occupies an important place. This article aims to assess the potential of BRICS influence in the framework of the international ICT security regime and the main directions of the BRICS activities in this area. In this paper, the BRICS agenda in the field of ICT security is studied on the basis of official documents of the annual summits and the main commitment made by the BRICS. The discourse analysis of the strategic planning documents of the BRICS countries allows to identify their priorities in the area under consideration, and to assess the potential for the implementation of the achieved obligations at the BRICS level. All the BRICS countries focus on ensuring sovereignty in the field of ICT. However, Russia, India and China consider digital development and ICT security as the most important direction of state policy and international cooperation; at the same time, they are more advanced in the field of digital technologies compared to other countries of the five and, as a result, are more vulnerable. In turn, Brazil and South Africa do not consider this area as a priority, placing more emphasis on ICT development and being more interested in access to technology and bridging the digital divide. However, all five countries are interested in solving the problem of extremism and terrorism in the digital sphere, which is also a promising area for the BRICS multilateral cooperation. A study of the voting of the BRICS countries in the UN and an analysis of their participation in alternative initiatives in the field of forming a cyber security regime promoted by Western countries showed the high efficiency of BRICS as a negotiating platform - the main contribution is made by developing a common position on the norms and principles of the international information security regime and their support at the UN level. Thus, BRICS can make a constructive contribution to the formation of the norms and principles of the international ICT security regime based on the principles of respect for state sovereignty, internationalization of the Internet governance, and counteraction to the criminal use of ICTs. An important advantage of BRICS in this area is the possibility of aggregating the interests and positions of developing countries.