UN cybercrime treaty changes sought by lawmakers

The Biden administration has been urged by a group of six Democratic senators to pursue changes to numerous provisions of the United Nations cybercrime treaty that undermine cybersecurity, artificial intelligence safety, and human rights, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Aside from enabling surveillance that curtails individuals’ privacy rights, the UN cybercrime treaty — which has already been approved by the body’s Ad Hoc Committee on Cybercrime — also requires the gathering and sharing of private internet user data with other countries that could legitimate authoritarian nations’ partnerships, while not providing computer access protections for security researchers and journalists, according to the letter written by Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Ed Markey, D-Mass., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Cory Booker, D-N.J. “Without this important work, authoritarian regimes and non-state actors could find it easier to exploit vulnerabilities to breach sensitive data sets and spread malware, making internet users in the United States and around the world decidedly less safe,” said the letter.