Allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election have focused attention on the largely ungoverned international cyber environment. Russia wants regulation, too, of a kind that allows it to insulate its internet space. It will propose a cybersecurity convention to the UN General Assembly this year, setting out its own vision of normative behaviour.
Creating an 'alternative internet' may have multiple disruptive effects for Russia, as efforts to ban the Telegram messaging app showed.
In the absence of internationally agreed norms, Western states will face pressure to devise robust responses to cyber attacks.
The emergence of artificial intelligence-controlled cyber weapons will prompt calls for international regulation and control.
