It’s frustrating enough these days to keep tabs on world events, and an emerging challenge has added a new dimension to that frustration…what is the origin of the news and information that you get from traditional as well as online sources?
Communication experts from around the world gathered recently in Cambridge, Mass., to share thoughts, experiences, and best practices in combatting cyber-attacks and (often closely related) “fake news” as part of the Boston Global Forum–G7 Summit Initiative Conference.
Following an introduction by former Massachusetts Governor and Chairman of Boston Global Forum Michael Dukakis, Nicola De Santis, Consul General of Italy in Boston, set the background for the morning’s discussions by noting, “We are laying the groundwork today to address the challenges of today’s societies.” De Santis went on to say that proceedings of the symposium will be presented for inclusion at the 43rdG7 Summit in Taormina, Italy.
As a veteran public relations professional now teaching the next generation(s) of PR pros, I found myself fascinated by…and concerned about…the channels through which often unsuspecting citizens receive what they believe to be news and information. More to the point, I found myself wondering how I and my colleagues, both professional and academic, can best prepare these future communicators to determine what is “fact” and what is “hacked.”
As the morning progressed, it became abundantly clear that the burden of proof lies squarely on the shoulders of the consumer. No longer can we rely solely on the traditional “gatekeepers” whose responsibility it is to ensure that what is being communicated to their audiences is verifiable and valid. The term “citizen journalist” has evolved as social media has become the dominant means of relaying news and information, and that “journalist” more often than not relies on his or her own “sources” for that news.
Canadian professor/philosopher Marshall McLuhan famously said, “The medium is the message.” But, as is becoming more and more apparent, that medium can also be manipulated. Symposium participant Trey Herr, Cybersecurity Fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, summed the dilemma up by saying, “The bigger piece of the puzzle is how do I trust the system that I am using?”
Therein lies the greater challenge for current…and more importantly…for future communicators. As cyber warfare escalates from individual computer system hackers who, for varied reasons, choose to manipulate information, to governments, how does one verify both the information itself and the source of that information?
According to Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer for Finnish cyber security and privacy company F-Secure, while criminal hackers are the largest in sheer numbers, government hackers “are much more serious. Although they are not so big in numbers, they have the capabilities and the resources [not available to individual criminal hackers].”
Once again the question bubbles up in my mind, “How to differentiate between fact and fiction if one’s own government is manipulating the information that is being communicated to its all-too-trusting citizens? And how do I, as an educator, help my students understand that erring on the side of caution must become second-nature to them as they pursue their career as communicators? How to recognize ‘fake news’?”
The phrase “fake news” has rapidly become as commonplace today as “rock-and-roll” was for my generation. As pointed out by Harvard University’s Global Citizenship Education Network Professor Thomas Patterson, “During the recent political campaign, fake news topped mainstream news in believability by the public.” And that “success” has been achieved through such tried and proven motivational techniques as repetition of message and reinforcement of beliefs.
As a former member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards, I was encouraged that the matter of ethics in communication was raised as part of the “fake new” discussion. In particular, the responsibility of institutions of higher education to implement fact-checking mechanisms and initiatives into their curriculum to instill in future communicators as well as business leaders the importance of honest and open communication as part and parcel of a democratic society.
My personal and reassuring take-away from the Boston Global Forum-G7 Summit Initiative Conference was that there is a recognition that cyber warfare is a serious threat to the ability of citizens of any country to remain educated and informed about events of significance to their own existence and that of generations to come, with fake news rapidly becoming a serious threat to that awareness.
My challenge, as an educator, is to help my students understand the role that they will play as communicators.
Ivy Ledbetter Lee, arguably the “Father of Ethical Public Relations,” said it best in his “Declaration of Principles” in 1906: “In brief, our plan is frankly, and openly, on behalf of business concerns and public institutions, to supply the press and public of the United States prompt and accurate information concerning subjects which it is of value and interest to the public to know about.”
Kirk Hazlett, APR, Fellow PRSA, is Assistant Professor of Communication/Public Relations at Curry College in Milton, MA
Mike Pompeo, the C.I.A. director, left, and Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, spoke on Thursday during a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
WASHINGTON — On the same day that President Trump went on Twitter to renew his claim that the focus on Russian hacking was “a Democrat EXCUSE for losing the election,” his two top intelligence officials told the Senate on Thursday that Russian cyberactivities were the foremost threat facing the United States and were likely to grow only more severe.
The officials delivered the warning as the nation’s intelligence agencies released their annual worldwide threat assessment, which described the Kremlin’s “aggressive cyberposture,” evidenced by “Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. election.”
Dan Coats, Mr. Trump’s director of national intelligence, repeated and endorsed, almost word for word, the Obama administration’s conclusion that “only Russia’s senior-most officials could have authorized the 2016 U.S. election-focused data thefts and disclosures, based on the scope and sensitivity of the targets.”
That conclusion is widely shared among Mr. Trump’s top national security officials. The only prominent dissenter appears to be the president himself, who has continued to insist that there is no conclusive evidence pinning the cyberactivity on the Russians, though he said in an interview with NBC News, “If Russia did anything, I want to know that.”
Only a few hours after the officials’ testimony, the White House said the dismissal on Tuesday of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, should help the bureau’s investigation of the Russian hacking come to a speedy conclusion. The intelligence officials, by contrast, said the inquiries into the matter must delve deeply into the question of how to prevent future attacks.
Mike Pompeo, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the Russians and others would try to meddle again in future elections and added, “I hope we learn from it as well and will be able to more effectively defeat it.”
Starting from 2016, Boston Global Forum will cooperate with host countries of G7 Summit to convene the world leading scholars, influential business leaders and young leaders, and government leaders of host countries to discuss and generate initiatives and solutions to the most global pressing issues concerning peace, security and development.
Initiatives will be sent to G7 leaders in G7 Summit
The BGF-G7 Summit Initiative (BG7SI) is dedicated to advancing the collaboration between the BGF and G7 in addressing global issues.
The BGF-G7 Summit Initiative Delegations
In 2016, The BGF was cooperating with Japan – as the G7 Summit’s host, to convene leaders in academic business , government and technology to seek solutions to this year’s biggest problems. Proposals was sent to national leaders at the G7 Summit, held in Japan – May 26-27, 2016
In the year of 2017, BGF continues to host the BGF-G7 Summit Initiative Conference on April 25,2017 and has successfully delivered The Taormina Plan as BGF-G7 Initiative. Proposals will sent to national leaders at the G7 Summit, to be held in Italy – May 26–27, 2017.
THE ETHICS CODE OF CONDUCT FOR CYBER PEACE AND SECURITY (ECCC)
Version 3.0
Governor Michael Dukakis, Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Mr. Allan Cytryn, Prof. Nazli Choucri, Prof. Thomas Patterson, Prof. Derek Reveron, Prof. John E. Savage, Prof. John Quelch, Prof. Carlos Torres.
The Boston Global Forum’s Ethics Code of Conduct for Cyber Peace and Security (ECCC) makes the following recommendations for maintaining the security, stability and integrity of cyberspace.
Net Citizens Should
• Engage in responsible behavior on the Internet, e.g.
o Conduct oneself online with the same thoughtfulness, consideration and respect for others that you expect from them, both online and offline
o Do not visit suspicious websites
o Do not share news or content from sources that are not trustworthy
• Learn and apply security best practices, e.g.
o Update software when notified by vendors.
o Ensure your PC has virus protection software installed and running.
o Use strong passwords, change them periodically, and do not share them.
o Do not transmit personally identifiable information to unknown sites.
o Maintain a healthy suspicion of email from unknown sources.
o For web communication use HTTPS instead of HTTP when possible.
Policy Makers Should
• Endorse and implement recommendations made by the 2015 UN Group of (G20). Below we summarize the important norms concerning information and communication technologies (ICTs).
1. [GGE] International law, including the UN Charter, applies online.
2. [GGE] States should help limit harmful uses of ICTs, especially those that threaten international peace and security.
3. [GGE] States should recognize that good attribution in cyberspace is difficult to obtain, which means miscalculation in response to cyber incidents is possible.
4. [GGE] States should not knowingly allow their territory to be used for malicious ICT activity.
5. [GGE] States should assist other states victimized by an ICT attack.
6. [GGE] States, in managing ICT activities, should respect the Human Rights Council and UN General Assembly resolutions on privacy and freedom of expression.
7. [GGE] States should protect their critical infrastructure from ICT threats.
8. [GGE] A state should not conduct or permit ICT use that damages the critical infrastructure of another state or impairs its operations.
9. [GGE] States should work to ensure the integrity of the supply chain so as to maintain confidence in the security of ICT products.
10. [GGE] States should prevent the proliferation of malicious ICT tools and techniques and the use of harmful hidden functions.
11. [GGE] States should encourage reporting of ICT vulnerabilities and the sharing of remedies for them.
12. [GGE] States should not knowingly attempt to harm the operations of a computer emergency response team. Nor should it use such a team for malicious international activity.
13. [G7] No state should conduct or support ICT-enabled theft of intellectual property, trade secrets or other confidential business information for commercial gain.
14. [G7] If ICT activity amounts to the use of force (an armed attack), states can invoke Article 51 of the UN Charter in response.
15. [G7] States should collaborate on research and development on security, privacy and resilience.
16. [G7] States are encouraged to join the Budapest Convention.
• States should not create nor tolerate the dissemination of fake news.
IT Engineers Should
• Apply best practices in the design, implementation and testing of hardware and software products so as to
o Avoid ICT vulnerabilities,
o Protect user privacy and data
• Make use of the NIST “Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” as a guide for improving the security of critical applications.
• Should not create nor use technology to create or disseminate fake news.
Business Firms and Business Leaders Should
• Take responsibility for handling sensitive corporate data stored electronically.
• Create employment criteria to ensure that employees are qualified to design and implement products and services that meet high security standards.
• Ensure that IT engineers are kept abreast of the latest ICT security threats.
• Implement effective Cyber Resilience in your business.
• Engage in information sharing of ICT hazards, subject to reasonable safeguards, with other companies in similar businesses.
Educators, Influencers/Institutions Should
• Teach the responsibilities of net citizens described above, including fostering good behavior and avoidance of malicious activity.
• Help global citizens to acquire the critical thinking skills needed to identify and avoid fake news and discourage its dissemination.
• Ensure that IT engineers are taught the skills necessary to produce safe, reliable and secure ICT products and services.
• Educate and lead global citizens to support and implement the ECCC.
• Create honors and awards to recognize outstanding individuals who contribute greatly to a secure and safe cyberspace.
Proposals for Consideration at G-7 Summit, Taormina, Italy, May 26-27, 2017
The Boston Global Forum herein submits policy proposals in two areas—cyber conflict and disinformation (fake news)—for consideration at the 2017 G-7 Summit in Taormina, Italy.
Contributors to this document are Nazli Choucri, Anders Corr, Michael Dukakis, Ryan Maness, Tuan Nguyen, Thomas Patterson, Derek S. Reveron, John E. Savage, and David Silbersweig.
The emergence of Fake News and threat of Cyberwar now impact
free, fair and peaceful elections in the US and elswehere
Cambridge Mass (April 20, 2017) — Leading cybersecurity and international media authorities will discuss coping with the rising impact of fake news and peaceful solutions to the threat of cyberwar at the upcoming Boston Global Forum-G7 Summit Initiative Conference in Cambridge.
8:30-11:30 AM, Tuesday, April 25
The Harvard University Faculty Club
20 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA
Opening remarks will be delivered by: Gov. Michael Dukakis, Chairman, Boston Global Forum, followed by Nicola De Santis, Consul General of Italy in Boston
The first Initiative of the BGF-G7 Summit Initiative on Preventing Cyberwar as Toarmina Solutions will be delivered by Prof. John Savage, Brown University; Mikko Hypponen – Chief Research Officer, F-Secure, and Trey Herr – Cybersecurity Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School.
Their presentation will be followed with a panel discussion by Prof. Derek Reveron and Prof. Thomas E. Creely, Naval War College; Prof. Nazli Choucri, MIT; Ryan Maness, Northeastern University; and Anders Corr, Principal, Corr Analytics.
FAKE NEWS
Coping with the spread of fake news will be addressed by Global Citizenship Education Network Professor Thomas Patterson of Harvard University; Anders Corr of Corr Analytics, and with Nguyen Anh Tuan, cofounder and CEO of The Boston Global Forum and chair of the International Advisory Committee of UNESCO in Global Learning and Global Citizenship Education at UCLA. This is the second Initiative of the BGF-G7 Summit Initiative.
Their comments will be followed by a panel discussion on the recent emergence of fake news and its impact on the democratic process with Prof. Carlos Alberto Torres, UCLA; Llewellyn King, Host, Whitehouse Chronicle and Barry Nolan, Senior Advisor, Joint Economic Committee, US Congress.
Following the official BGF program, Dick Pirozzolo, Boston Global Forum Editorial Board Member, will deliver an informal talk and reading from: “Escape from Saigon,” a new novel set during, April of 1975—the final 30 days of the Vietnam War, coauthored with Michael Morris (Skyhorse Publishing, New York, Jan. 2017).
About The Boston Global Forum
Established in 2012, The Boston Global Forum brings together, in an open and accessible public forum, an eclectic and engaging spectrum of highly regarded academic leaders, real-world experts, influential thoughts leaders, media experts and promising young leaders.
BGF’s immediate goal is to identify emerging threats to peace and stability around the globe, suggest realistic solutions, and identify possible actions that can be taken to avert armed conflict. The Forum’s ultimate goal is to lessen tensions, promote peace and security, and foster conditions that lead to greater social justice and broader economic prosperity wherever they are most needed.
