The EastWest Institute's Global Vice President Bruce McConnell speaks with Latha Reddy, former deputy national security advisor of India, and Scott Charney, vice president for security policy at Microsoft, on the importance of introducing norms in cyberspace and the role of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace (GCSC) in building on this important initiative.

“Part of the goal of the commission [GCSC], and others working on norms…is how do you take what we’ve learned from the past and apply them to this new domain [cybersecurity], instead of just waiting for disaster to happen and then everyone saying ‘there should be a rule,'” stated Charney. “Maybe we know enough to start crafting some of those rules now.”

When asked about the objectives of the commission, Reddy said “For me, success would be if we could come out with five or six norms that make universal sense.” "There has been a lot of talk about whether the Internet is a global commons or not…I think this much is true: The Internet it is a public good, an international good…it has become a universal medium, so we have to find a universal way to regulate it.”

Latha Reddy has extensive experience in foreign policy and security, and has worked on strategic technology policies, particularly on cyber issues relating to cybersecurity policy, international cyber cooperation and Internet governance. She is currently a distinguished fellow at the EastWest Institute.

Scott Charney has received numerous awards during his career, including the Justice Department’s John Marshall Award for Outstanding Legal Achievement and the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service. He currently serves on the President’s National Security and Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC).