Information threats and international information security in the work of the United Nations and the OSCE

The purpose of this article is to comparatively analyze the work carried out by the leading countries in the UN and the SCO on international information security (IIS). The UN activities in the sphere of IIoS are disclosed in the working formats of the GGE and the OEWG. The authors show that the Russian side is moving from the goal of establishing an international regime of non-proliferation of information weapons to the creation of an international regime of non-use of information weapons on critical infrastructures. The article notes that the Western approach has evolved from recognizing that there is no need to create additional norms to the norms of international law and the need to develop an international universal, legally binding instrument to the exact opposite objectives. Based on the highlighted areas of comparison between the UN and the SCO, the authors conclude that, unlike the UN, the SCO addresses the problem of cyber threats promptly and consistently through several forms of interaction (at least four): signing international documents, creating and developing regional institutions to combat cyber threats, etc. At the UN level, work is carried out only in two areas, which requires improvement and expansion of these areas.

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