The United States and Russia have identified information and communications technologies as a new field of cooperation and affirmed their commitment to safeguard this area, the White House said Monday.President Barrack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, sealed the agreement in a joint statement issued on the sidelines of this year’s G8 summit in Northern Ireland.
“We view this cooperation as essential to safeguarding the security of our countries, and to achieving security and reliability in the use of ICTs that are essential to innovation and global interoperability,†the statement read.
The two sides said they have moved forward on three steps intended to “strengthen relations, increase transparency and build confidence between our two nations.â€
- Establish an information sharing protocol between U.S. and Russian computer emergency response teams
- Authorize direct communication between the twonuclear risk reduction centers
- Establish a direct communication link between White House and Kremlin officials to head off situations arising from any ICT-related security event
The joint statement also announced the planned creation of a working group that will regularly meet to discuss and assess existing and emerging security threats related to ICT.
“To further deepen our relationship, relevant agencies of our countries plan to continue their regular dialogue and to identify additional areas for mutually beneficial cooperation in combating threats to or in the use of ICTs,†it added.
