ISLAMABAD – The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted a Russian-sponsoredresolution on fighting cybercrime despite US objections.
The resolution – “Countering the Use of Information and CommunicationsTechnologies for Criminal Purposes” – was approved with a vote of 79 statesfor and 60 states against, with 33 abstentions.
The document calls for establishing a committee of experts from throughoutthe world to draft an international convention to fight the criminal use ofinformation and communications technologies.
The UN’s Third Committee had earlier passed the Russian initiative on 18November.
The United States expressed concerns earlier about the possible adoption ofthe Russia-backed resolution. A US State Department official said that theUnited States viewed a new cybercrime treaty as unnecessary because theexisting Budapest Convention mechanism can handle cybercrime issues.
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The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported earlier that theresolution in fact affirms the sovereignty of states over their cyberspace.
Cybersecurity has been one of the major concerns for political leadersworldwide. Both Russia and the United States have repeatedly accused eachother of conducting intentional cyber attacks on each other’s countries.
