U.S.- RF CYBERSECURITY BILATERAL ON MARGINS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 USOSCE 000066 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR VCI/CCA, EUR/RPM, OES NSA FOR STANAR-JOHNSON, T FOR KATSAPIS, OSD EUR/NATO, OSD/NII FOR HALL, DHS FOR DENNING, NSC FOR HATHAWAY, NSC FOR DONAHUE, NSC FOR CUMMINGS, WINPAC FOR FRITZMEIER, ISN FOR KARTCHNER, NSC FOR HAYES JCS FOR J5/COL NORWOOD OSD FOR ISA (PERENYI) E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/20/2018 TAGS: EINT FR KCFE KHLS OSCE PARM PREL RS KCIP SUBJECT: U.S.- RF CYBERSECURITY BILATERAL ON MARGINS OF OSCE CYBER WORKSHOP REF: A. USOSCE 0064 ¶B. USOSCE 0065 Classified By: Charge d' Affairs a.i. Hugh Neighbour, for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In a bilateral meeting on March 16 before the start of the OSCE Workshop on a Comprehensive OSCE Approach to Enhancing Cybersecurity (March 17-18, Vienna), U.S. and Russian Federation dels met to discuss their differing approaches to cybersecurity and to identify common ground if possible. There was little change, if any, between U.S. and Russian long-held views on cybersecurity. The U.S. stressed layered defensive strategies as the most effective way to deal with challenges to cybersecurity. Russia alleged that an arms control race was unfolding in cyberspace and that constraints on state capabilities were necessary, but failed to address concrete U.S. concerns raised regarding this approach. For participants, see para 11. END SUMMARY. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - U.S. Concerns with Russian Approach - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) U.S. head of del (Markoff) reviewed her guidance, explaining that cyber security was high on the Obama administration's agenda and that a 60-day review of national cyber security policy was currently ongoing. Markoff gave a detailed account of U.S. concerns regarding the RF approach, as it was outlined in Sherstyuk's published remarks. She underscored the key theme that the U.S. did not think that the threats of cyber attack could be usefully addressed by traditional arms control-type constraints. She noted that constraining state capabilities were meaningless when governments have no particular monopoly on attack tools and attacks could be carried out by proxies. She noted that layered "dynamic defenses" are the best way to handle any attack, whatever the source. ¶3. (C) Russia (Krutskikh) gave a long monologue about how he thought the U.S. and Russia could work together in the area of cyber security. He said that Russia was willing to demonstrate flexibility and "listen to the American experience." Krutskikh also said that the U.S. and Russia had not engaged on cyber security since "the impasse began in the UN." Krutskikh said Russia did not expect that the U.S. and Russia would "act like two gladiators to amuse the world." He said that "both Russia and the U.S. had a new president," and hoped this would portend a change in long-standing U.S. policies. He noted that Russia was not pushing the idea of a new international agreement to "create a headache for the U.S." and that it was not really a "disarmament approach," only that it "sounded" like one, asserting that this was a "stereotype." Krutskikh lastly stressed the need for agreement on "terms and definitions." Russia and the U.S. needed a "common vocabulary" in order to take the next step. He expressed a sense of hope when he heard the U.S. was conducting a 60-day cyber policy review, and believed the U.S. and Russia might eventually be able to issue a joint statement on working together. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Russia Alleges Arms Race in Cyberspace - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶4. (C) Russia (Sherstyuk) believed that "an arms race in cyberspace" was at hand. Sherstyuk said that is was the U.S. who first recognized that cyber capabilities could be more destructive that WMD. He stressed that Russia considered USOSCE 00000066 002 OF 003 cybersecurity a "political-military" issue. He also agreed that the U.S. and Russia had made little progress in moving forward on this issue bilaterally. ¶5. (C) The U.S. (Markoff) replied that the U.S. had put forth a list of serious, concrete concerns regarding the Russian Federation's arms control proposal, but that Russia as of yet still had not addressed them. Markoff welcomed a serious response to U.S. concerns. She stressed that until Russia was ready to engage constructively, it would be difficult for conversations to go any further on other matters related to cyber security. Markoff also noted that it was disappointing that a member of the G8 had not signed on to the Council of Europe Convention on Cyber Crime. She explained that the U.S. thought it was odd that Russia appeared to be calling for another treaty instrument when Russia had every opportunity to amend for four years a convention that Russia calls "so flawed." Markoff sought to end on a high note with a hope to find common ground during the OSCE workshop over the next two days. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Russia Objects to Cybercrime Convention - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (C) Russia (Sherstyuk) explained that it specifically objected to paragraph 32.b of the Council of Europe Convention on Cyber Crime. Russia (Miroshnikov) said that IT crime was wider than cybercrime. Miroshnikov stated that in 2008 there were approximately 5500 criminal cases involving IT and roughly 75% of those cases were categorized as "cybercrime." He cited specific examples of Russian collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Medvedev-Obama Meeting in July? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (C) In a separate aside on day one of the workshop (March 17) Russian Federation head of del (Krutskikh) told U.S. head of del (Markoff) that Russian President Medvedev will raise their long-standing "information security" concerns and proposals with President Obama during their "planned July meeting." Krutskikh indicated that Russia is flexible in their approaches to constraining the "information arms race" and that options could include "codes of conduct." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Russians Want Meeting in Washington Before GGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (C) In preparation for the UNGA Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on this issue scheduled to have its first meeting in Geneva in November 2009, Krutskikh said that the Russian Federation proposes a follow-up to conversations had on the margins of this workshop in the format of "large delegations, with all the generals" in Washington in September 2009. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Russia Has Message for OES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (C) On other issues, Krutskikh wanted to let his counterparts in State/OES know that the Russian Federation has issued blanket guidance that no technical exchanges on any topic, i.e., space, information security, etc. can be concluded without first completing the Technology Safeguard Agreement (TSA) that had been under negotiation. USOSCE 00000066 003 OF 003 ¶10. (U) This cable has been cleared by INR/CCT Markoff; OSD/NII; and, OSD/P. ¶11. (SBU) Participants included: U.S. side: -- Hugh Neighbour, Chief Arms Control Delegate, U.S. Mission to the OSCE -- State/INR Michele Markoff, Acting Director, Office of Cyber Affairs, Bureau of Intelligence and Research and Head of Delegation -- State/INR Peter Juliak, analyst -- State/EB John Rodgers, Director APEC and OECD Affairs, Office of International Communications and Information Policy -- DHS John Denning, Director of External Affairs, Office of Cybersecurity and Communications -- DOD Robert Doheny, Program Executive, Defense Cybersecurity Implementation and Principal Director, Crisis Management and Mission Assurance -- DOD Anthony Bargar, Senior Strategy and Policy Advisor, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Information and Identity Assurance -- DOD Forrest Hare, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force, Senior Information Operations Officer -- State/VCI Toniann Wright, Political Military Affairs Officer and notetaker Russian side: -- Mikhail Ulyanov, Head of Delegation for Military Security and Arms Control -- Vladislav Sherstyuk, Assistant Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation -- Andrey Krutskikh, Deputy Director of the Department on New Challenges and Threats, Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- Boris Miroshnikov, Head of the Bureau of Speical Technical Activities, Ministry of Interior; Dmitry Votrin, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs -- Sergey Boyko, Expert, Ministry of Defense -- Sergey Komov, Minitary Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. NEIGHBOUR