The Problem
Like hundreds of thousands of others, our prime ministers, elected officials, foreign ministers, diplomats are hacked on their smartphones. Can anything be done to stop it?
Just over the last year, five European heads of state or heads of opposition and two foreign ministers were hacked on their smartphones.
The hacks went on for months, giving unidentified hackers access most likely to all data, communications, and the ability to turn on the device microphones. And these are just the discovered and reported ones. And now extends to sensitive interactions with ChatGPT-like systems.
Worse, the number of victims worldwide - for political or profit motives - are most likely in the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding elected officials, diplomats, businessmen, and citizens, while millions are at risk, as we argued in a recent opinion article published on Geneva's leading newspaper, Le Temps.
Among them, diplomats are especially affected as they are hugely constrained in their effectiveness by the lack of confidentiality of digital communications, at a time of multiple global crises that require more than ever fair and effective digital dialogue.
Nearly all parliamentarians and ministers, and their close associates, are hackable or hacked in a massive scale by unidentified foreign state and non-state entities.
Last but not least, international organizations like ICRC, UNHCR, the UN and UNICC are not able to maintain the security and privacy they need to fulfil their mission of neutrality.
Even in states that are global cyber superpowers, like the US, Israel and likely China, law-abiding citizens and law-abiding elected officials, and their relatives and close associates, are illegitimately hacked. And the current Wild West of hacking, spyware, and widely available malware, has been a source of significant damage to their own governmental institutions, and their trust relations with allies and third nations.
The Workshops
Delegates of like-minded states, IGOs and neutral INGOs, and cybersecurity experts, will gather to learn and discuss about the the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative, a new cybersecurity capacity-building, cyber diplomacy, and joint venture initiative that aims to radically increase both the security and accountability of the sensitive non-classified human-to-human and human-to-and-through-AI communications of diplomats, parliamentarians, prime ministers, and millions of targeted citizens, while ensuring and enhancing national and international legitimate lawful access:
Following on the trails of a previous edition of the Free and Safe in Cyberspace workshops series - held last March 2023 in Geneva within the UN World Summit on the Information Society - the 11th Edition of the Free and Safe in Cyberspace (or “FSC11”) will be held next June 14th, 21st and 28th, 2023, in Geneva and on Zoom, and via bilateral meetings in Geneva.
Participants
FSC11 workshops - except for the Early Session of June 21st Workshop - are closed-doors, reserved exclusively delegates of states, IGOs and INGOs interested in becoming partners of the Initiative. Thus, their names are confidential, disclosed only to other participants.
High officials of six states from Africa, Asia and South America, including three Permanent Representatives of Missions to the UN in Geneva, have signed up to participate as prospective partners in recent workshops we held in Geneva and/or our upcoming FSC11, while we are engaging another twelve states.
A 25-page TCCB & Seevik Net Traction Update (pdf), that details our engagements over the last two years with an additional nine states and IGOs interested to join the Initiative, is available following the signing of the confidentiality terms included in the FSC11 Terms of Participation agreement.
Keynote Speakers
Eight world-class IT security and privacy experts, current and former state, IGO and INGO officials, will intervene during the final workshop of June 21st, 2023 in support of the Initiative. These are being selected among members of the Governance and Scientific Advisory Boards of the Trustless Computing Association TCA advisors, as well as speakers of recent editions of Free and Safe in Cyberspace. A list of confirmed and to-be-confirmed speaker is available on qualified request.
Location
FSC11 workshops will be held in hybrid format on Zoom and in-person in Geneva at the headquarters of the Trustless Computing Association on 1 Rue Fendt.
Agenda
All Workshops will be held in hybrid format on Zoom and in-person in Geneva at the headquarters of the Trustless Computing Association on 1 Rue Fendt, 1201, Geneva. Participation to just one of the three Basic Workshops and one Advanced Workshop is expected and sufficient, though repeat participation is welcome. Here is the agenda:
June 14th, 2023
(h 14-16) - Basic Workshop
(13.50 - Remote participants connect for audio/video test.)
14.00 - Welcome and introductions by to the Trustless Computing Association
14.15 - Introduction to the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative by Rufo Guerreschi, Executive Director of the Trustless Computing Association.
15.00 - Question and Answers
15:50 - Closing Statements and Next steps
16.00 - End
June 21st, 2023
(h 14-16.30) - Basic Workshop Extended
(13.50 - Remote participants connect for audio/video test.)
14.00 - Welcome and introductions
14.05 - Introduction to the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative by Rufo Guerreschi, Executive Director of the Trustless Computing Association.
14.30 - Question and Answers
15.00 - FSC Classic Program. Eight world-class speaker and TCA advisors will provide their answers to the 4 Challenges of the Free and Safe in Cyberspace, the sole focus of each edition Free and Safe in Cyberspace conference series since its 1st Edition in 2015, (normally over 2 days of panels). The search for answers to the 4 Challenge has lead, over 7 years of research, development, and deliberative discourse, to the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative
15:00 - FSC Challenge A: How can we build IT for human communication and social networking systems, for sensitive non-classified computing, that ensure levels of privacy, security and democratic control that radically exceed state-of-the-art?
15.15 - FSC Challenge B: If we can solve Challenge A, how can we do so while (1) increasing the certainty, rapidity and integrity of legitimate lawful access requests, national and international, via procedural “in-person” mechanisms and (2) sufficiently limit grave and large scale risks of abuse of such access by anyone?
15.30 - FSC Challenge C: How IT systems and sub-systems that satisfy Challenge A and/or B, contribute to increase the security, privacy, transparency, safety, accountability, control and alignment of the most critical sub-systems of society-critical IT and advanced Artificial Intelligence systems, such as social media, conversational AIs and critical infrastructure?
15.45 - FSC Challenge D: What socio-technical paradigms and governance models should guide an on multi-governmental democratic governance structure that can sustainably certify IT systems that solve Challenge A, B and C?
16.00 - Wrap up of the Challenges and the Initiative by Rufo Guerreschi
16.05 - Q & A
16.25 - Closing Statements
16.30 - End
(h 16.30-18.30) - Advanced Workshop
(16.20 - Remote participants connect for audio/video test.)
16.30 - Intro to the new draft Statute of Trustless Computing Certification Body
16.45 - Q&A and suggestions by participants
17.00 - Intro to the TCCB and Seevik Net Initiative Cofounders Agreement
17.15 - Q&A and suggestions by participants
17.30 - Statements by participants (optional)
17.50 - Open deliberative discourse on concerns and proposed improvements to the Initiative
18.20 - Closing statements and next steps
18.30 - End
June 28th, 2023
(h 14-16) - Basic Workshop
(13.50 -Remote participants connect for audio/video test.)
14.00 - Welcome and introductions by to the Trustless Computing Association
14.15 - Introduction to the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative by Rufo Guerreschi, Executive Director of the Trustless Computing Association.
15.00 - Question and Answers
15:50 - Closing Statements and Next steps
16.00 - End
June 28th, 2023 (h 16-18) - Advanced Workshop
(15.50 - Remote participants connect for audio/video test.)
16.00 - Intro to the new draft Statute of Trustless Computing Certification Body
16.15 - Q&A and suggestions by participants
16.30 - Intro to the TCCB and Seevik Net Initiative Cofounders Agreement
16.45 - Q&A and suggestions by participants
17.00 - Statements by participants (optional)
17.20 - Open deliberative discourse on concerns and proposed improvements to the Initiative
17.50 - Closing statements and next steps
18.00 - End
Registration to FSC11
Limited Seats: Participation to just one of the three Basic Workshops and one of the three Advanced Workshops is expected and sufficient, though repeat participation is welcome.
Participation is limited to three delegates per participating organization, who may attend online or in-person. Participation are limited to 5 organizations per Workshop to ensure highly interactive engagement. Reservation is “first come, first serve”. Deadline is 24 hours before each workshop.
Confidentiality. As per a Terms of Participation agreement, to be signed by all participants, TCA staff and participants will not be able to refer to statements by other participants in any public communication. Participants can request written guarantee that their participation, and that of their delegates, may be referred to by any of the other participants only solidly “anonymised way” (e.g. “one of the 5 largest EU member states by GDP”).
One-to-one meeting alternative. If none of the workshops dates fit your schedule, but you are interested in the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative, we are glad to consider a 1-to-1 presentation meeting in Geneva at a time and date most suitable for you.
Register Today to reserve your seat!
About Us
The Trustless Computing Association is a project-based NGO, based in Geneva and Rome, whose mission is to radically improve the security and privacy of non-classified mobile communications, while preserving or increasing legitimate national and international lawful access, and so promote democracy, liberties, global cooperation and public safety.
Since 2015 - together with 25 top advisors and 22 world-class R&D partners, including 2 nations - it advanced its mission via the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net initiative, through multiple activities.
These include 3 R&D initiatives and several publications, a Geneva-based startup “spin-in” TRUSTLESS.AI, and eight editions of the Free and Safe in Cyberspace workshop series, held in 3 continents (twice in Brussels and Geneva, and once in New York, Berlin, Zurich and Iguaçu) with over 120 world-class speakers, to expand consensus on the TCCB and the Trustless Computing Paradigms.
Contacts
Logistical and administrative inquiries:
Write us at Team at Trustless Computing Association
info@trustlesscomputing.org
Participation inquiries:
Rufo Guerreschi, Founder and Executive Director of the Trustless Computing Association
rufo@trustlesscomputing.org
Mobile/Signal/WhatsApp/Telegram +41799137280 - Mobile +393289376075