3/2/2018
Joint UK-Australia Statement on Cyber Co-operation - GOV.UK
the prohibition of the use of force (Article 2(4)), the peaceful settlement of disputes (Article 33), and the inherent
right of states to act in self-defence in response to an armed attack (Article 51). The law of state responsibility
applies to cyber operations in peacetime, including the availability of the doctrine of countermeasures in response
to internationally wrongful acts.
We recognise that an increasing number of states are developing operational cyber capabilities. We assert states’
legitimate right to develop these capabilities, and emphasise their obligation to ensure their use is governed in
accordance with international law. Acknowledgement of these capabilities does not encourage aggression, or
contradict our common commitment to maintaining a peaceful ICT environment. Rather, acknowledging the
existence of these capabilities fosters the understanding that, just like in the physical domains, states’ activities in
cyberspace do not occur in a vacuum - states have rights - but they also have obligations.
We will promote operationalisation of norms of responsible state behaviour recommended in the 2015 report of
the UN Group of Governmental Experts on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the
context of international security. We will focus on positive practical measures that states can take to put these
voluntary norms into practice. We will also implement confidence building measures that can build trust between
responsible states. In doing so we recognise that transparency is the first step to establishing mutual trust and
provides a foundation for measures available to all states, whatever their stage of development. We are
committed to working through the OSCE and ASEAN Regional Forum as a way of contributing to peace and
understanding in cyberspace.
We confirm our mutual commitment to cyber security capacity building that directly contributes to international
stability: recognising the importance to all our security of states developing responsible legal and governance
frameworks, overcoming the barriers to implementing agreed norms, building resilience to cyber threats, and
strengthening law enforcement responses in line with the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. As the next 1
billion people access the economic and social benefits of cyberspace, it is in all of our interests to ensure that
cybersecurity is understood as a key part of the development agenda.
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Published 11 July 2017
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