Cybersecurity: Biden Lets Russia Set Terms

Earlier this month, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution on international information security, sponsored jointly by Russia and the United States. But don’t be fooled: “Joint” sponsorship does not imply equally represented interests so much as capitulation. The resolution follows the Biden administration’s inexplicable granting of support to a summer 2021 effort in the U.N. to draft international “rules of the road” for cyberspace, a push directed primarily by Russia. Given Russia’s authoritarian control of Internet use by its citizens, incessant cyberattacks against the U.S., and penchant for manipulating international organizations, why has the Biden administration ceded so much ground to the Kremlin?

That question is even more perplexing in light of Biden’s repeated assertions, on the campaign trail and in office, that cybersecurity is a high priority for his administration. Despite these statements, the Kremlin’s interference in U.S. elections and its offensive cyberattacks against critical infrastructure failed to make Biden think twice about entrusting cyber norms to Russian leadership.

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Ivana Stradner

Ivana Stradner is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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Earlier this month, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution on international information security, sponsored jointly by Russia and the United States. But don’t be fooled: “Joint” sponsorship does not imply equally represented interests so much as capitulation. The resolution follows the Biden administration’s inexplicable granting of support to a summer 2021 effort in the U.N. to draft international “rules of the road” for cyberspace, a push directed primarily by Russia. Given Russia’s authoritarian control of Internet use by its citizens, incessant cyberattacks against the U.S., and penchant for manipulating international organizations, why has the Biden administration ceded so much ground to the Kremlin?

That question is even more perplexing in light of Biden’s repeated assertions, on the campaign trail and in office, that cybersecurity is a high priority for his administration. Despite these statements, the Kremlin’s interference in U.S. elections and its offensive cyberattacks against critical infrastructure failed to make Biden think twice about entrusting cyber norms to Russian leadership.