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# IGF 2018 WS #171 Multi-stakeholding cybersecurity in Africa

Format:

Panel - 60 Min

Theme:

Cybersecurity, Trust and Privacy

Subtheme:

CYBERSECURITY BEST PRACTICES

Organizer 1: Anri van der Spuy, Research ICT Africa
Organizer 2: Chenai Chair, Research ICT Africa

Speaker 1: Towela Nyirenda, Intergovernmental Organization, African Group
Speaker 2: Arthur Gwagwa, Technical Community, African Group
Speaker 3: Anriette Esterhuysen, Civil Society, African Group
Speaker 4: Michael Nelson, Private Sector, Western European and Others Group (WEOG)

Additional Speakers:

Speaker 1: Koliwe Majama, APC, Civil Society Organisation, African Group, female

Speaker 2: William Dutton, Oxford Martin School, Academia, Western European and Others Group (WEOG), Male

Speaker 3: Matthew Shears, Global Partners Digital, Civil Society, Western European and Others Group (WEOG), male

Relevance:

Although different forms of multistakeholder partnerships for digital policymaking continue to gain popularity in Africa and beyond, such collaborations are still limited and mostly confined to spur broadband infrastructure investment, particularly fibre optic networks, on the continent. Where cybersecurity is concerned, an inevitable reliance on specialised ICT skills and high levels of mutual dependence should encourage collaborative efforts. Because multistakeholder collaborations often involve complex institutional arrangements involving players from diverse fields, successfully completing such a collaboration for cybersecurity is not a simple endeavour. Other challenges include a lack of resources and a shortage of specialised skills in the public sector, the pace of technological change (with accompanying risks and threats), dissonant rationales for and expectations of the collaboration, and a natural reluctance to share critical and sensitive information, for example. While the literature on multistakeholder partnerships has attempted to highlight factors critical to positive outcomes of collaborations, no agreement exists between different stakeholders on what this collaboration is all about, how it should be implemented, and how this should be encouraged. Without a better understanding of multistakeholder participation in cybersecurity policymaking, it is difficult to guide diverse actors in cybersecurity to enter in such agreements for more effective service delivery. On the other hand, missing opportunities for collaboration in cybersecurity may increase costs for both public and private partners. For a better understanding of multistakeholder collaboration in cybersecurity, a thorough investigation of instances of collaboration - including their nature and forms - is needed. This panel discussion, therefore, invites different stakeholders on debating on instances of collaboration in cybersecurity in Africa, by posing the following policy questions: 1) What is the rationale for multistakeholder collaboration in cybersecurity policymaking? 2) How can multistakeholder collaborations in cybersecurity be improved in Africa? What are the challenges of implementing them? 3) What forms should multistakeholder collaborations for cybersecurity take? 4) What are the key success factors experienced by the different stakeholders involved in the partnership?

Session Content:

While the notion of multistakeholder collaboration on cybersecurity has often been acknowledged as central and integral to cybersecurity policy-making, what exactly such collaboration entails remains rather vague in both the available literature and in practice. During the panel, the notion of collaboration in cybersecurity strategies will be untangled. To distinguish between traditional public-private partnerships (PPPs) in network infrastructure industries and a wider array of collaborative relationships that are relevant to cybersecurity, the panellists will be invited to discuss collaboration in cybersecurity in more detail, by delving into different types of collaboration and how they differ from more traditional PPPs, before focusing on how such relationships can be designed to promote cybersecurity. The debate has the following intended agenda: - Introduction on the topic of multistakeholder collaboration on cybersecurity policy-making, and a brief introduction of the discussants; - Presentation of a discussion paper on multistakeholder partnerships on cybersecurity in Mauritius and South Africa, based on a research conducted by Research ICT Africa (RIA) in 2018 in these selected Africa countries; - Debate on research findings moderated by the RIA Principal Investigator on cybersecurity; - Open microphone for online and offline interventions and questions from the public; - Answers from the discussion; - Wrap up and takeaways.

Interventions:

The speakers to the panel belong to different stakeholders groups – civil society, government, academia, and private sector. In this way, different perspectives on what forms multistakeholder collaboration in cybersecurity should take and on how it should be implemented are discussed by the perspective of different stakeholders groups. The discussants, based on their experience and expertise, will be challenged to untangle issues on difficulties on implementing multistakeholders collaboration in cybersecurity, and how their expertise and experience can contribute towards the effective implementation of such partnerships.

Diversity:

Diversity is taken into account in the selection of discussants, moderators, and organisers. Gender balance is respected and preference is given to women in the panel and in the organising group. Discussants work and/or have extensive experience in developing countries and belong to different stakeholders groups.

Online Participation:

In order to ensure equal offline and online participation, online attendees will have their own interventions and questions queue and microphone, which will rotate equally with the microphone in the room. The moderator of the debate in the room will work closely with the online moderator in order to balance online and offline participation during the debate. The remote moderator, who has been selected based on her expertise and experience on online moderation for IGF workshops, will be briefed on how to engage the online community to participate to the debate and on how to feed the offline debate with online contributions. On the other hand, the moderator in the room, who has already moderated debates at the IGF, will be briefed on how to alternate offline contributions and online contributions from the remote public. The moderator of the debate in the room and the online moderator will meet before the debate to organise modalities of interventions of the offline and online public. Last but not least, in order to engage more and new participants in the session, remote hubs for participation in the session will be organised in different African countries. The organisers will identify iHubs, Incubators or other ICT centres who will set up remote hubs and invite local participants to remotely participate in the discussion.

Discussion Facilitation:

The moderators (offline and online) supported by the workshop organisers, will involve discussants and the public in the debate, and will facilitate the discussion on the topic of the panel discussion. Specifically, in order to optimise the time and to assure fair participation of both online and offline participants, the debate will unfold in the following way: 1) The moderator will introduce the discussants to the offline and online public and will briefly introduce the topic of the debate: 2 minutes 2) The moderator will then invite a researcher from Research ICT Africa to present findings from a Discussion Paper on multistakeholder collaboration on cybersecurity in Mauritius and South Africa: 5 minutes. 3) Afterwards, the moderator will invite discussants to comment on the research results and to share their own experience on different forms of multistakeholder collaboration in cybersecurity in Africa and beyond, and on challenges in implementing them: 4 discussants, 5 minutes each = 20 minutes. 4) After all discussants have expressed their opinions, the moderator will invite the offline public and the online public to make interventions or to ask specific questions. A maximum of 3 offline interventions/questions and 3 online interventions/questions will be placed in a queue and will have the microphone: 5 minutes. 5) Questions will be answered, and additional comments will be made by the discussants: 15 minutes. 6) The moderators will open up the microphone to a final round of online and offline interventions/questions (Max 2 onsite questions, 2 offsite questions): 4 minutes. 7) The debate will end with a final round of answers and additional comments by the discussants: 8 minutes. 8) The moderator will wrap up and close the debate: 1 minute. TOTAL: 60 minutes.

Onsite Moderator:

Enrico Calandro

Online Moderator:

Chenai Chair

Rapporteur:

Anri Van Der Spuy

igf_2018_ria_cybersec_collaboration_ws_day_2_f.pdf
Session Time:
Tuesday, 13 November, 2018 - 17:20 to 18:20
Room:
Salle VI

## Archived Content

- 2017 IGF: Geneva
- 2016 IGF: Jalisco
- 2015 IGF: João Pessoa
- 2014 IGF: Istanbul
- 2013 IGF: Bali
- 2012 IGF: Baku
- 2011 IGF: Nairobi
- 2010 IGF: Vilnius
- 2009 IGF: Sharm El Sheikh
- 2008 IGF: Hyderabad
- 2007 IGF: Rio de Janeiro
- 2006 IGF: Athens

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## Contact Information

United Nations
Secretariat of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

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igf [at] un [dot] org
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