Response to General Assembly resolution 71/28 “Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security” United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, July 2017 Executive summary The United Kingdom welcomes the opportunity to respond to General Assembly resolution 71/28 entitled “Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security”, which builds on its response to resolution 70/237 in 2016. The United Kingdom uses its preferred terminology of ‘cybersecurity’ and related concepts throughout its response, to avoid confusion given the different interpretations of the term ‘information security’ in this context. The United Kingdom recognises cyberspace as a fundamental element of securing critical national and international infrastructure and an essential foundation for economic and social activity online. Actual and potential threats posed by activities in cyberspace continue to be of great concern. Our new National Cyber Security Strategy, published in October 2016, will shape our efforts over the next 5 years to defend our assets, deter our adversaries and develop our cyber security sector. The United Kingdom continues to take a leading role in the international debate on cybersecurity. We provided experts at all five United Nations Groups of Governmental Experts (UN GGE). Despite the lack of consensus in the 2017 group, we are committed to promoting an international stability framework for cyberspace based on the application of existing international law, agreed voluntary norms of responsible state behaviour and confidence building measures (CBMs), supported by coordinated capacity building programmes. The United Kingdom also welcomes efforts in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and in other regional fora to provide proposals for implementing CBMs and will look to continue to lead by example in adopting such measures. This response outlines the United Kingdom’s work on supporting and improving cyber security and sharing best practice domestically and worldwide, including with international