ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland: The United States and Russia have signed a cyberspace communication pact to reduce the risk of conflict on issues including counterterrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
The one-of-a-kind agreement was announced by both countries during the summit in Northern Ireland on Monday, in order to establish real-time communications about national security interests, the Washington Post reported.
“We affirm the importance of cooperation between the United States of America and the Russian Federation for the purpose of enhancing bilateral understanding in this area. We view this cooperation as essential to safeguarding the security of our countries,” said US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a joint statement.
The two sides hope the plan will encourage cooperation on important issues, with a 24-hour call center used to warn each other of cyber incidents that might be seen as an act of aggression.
“We recognize that threats to or in the use of [computer technologies] include political-military and criminal threats, as well as threats of a terrorist nature, and are some of the most serious national and international security challenges we face in the 21st century,” the statement noted.
While the US has commonly blamed other rival countries, especially China and Russia, for waging extensive cyber attacks against American corporate and government computer networks, a recent report has revealed that Washington is behind massive cyber attacks against various countries across the globe.
US-based Mandiant Internet security firm has confirmed that the US, in collaboration with the Israeli regime, have already begun to attack computer networks in other countries, citing malwares like Stuxnet and Flame for their attacks on Iran’s nuclear energy program.
