A U.N. group of governmental experts appears to have reached...

A U.N. group of governmental experts appears to have reached agreement on a report on cyberwar and critical network protection, we've learned, with the report expected to be released Friday. In documents submitted to the group, countries were at odds over what was needed to protect critical networks and stem cyberthreats (CD Nov 23/09 p8). A similar group several years ago failed to agree on a report largely because of U.S. objections. In April 2008, the former and current chairman of the group said Russia wanted a cyberspace code of conduct, not a “strict treaty” (CD April 28/08 p10). Department of State officials have not responded to repeated requests for information on the meetings, nor have they fulfilled January 2009 Freedom of Information Act requests. The new report will be forwarded to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for consideration. Ban’s spokesman did not immediately respond to e-mail and telephone inquiries. Group Chairman Andrey Krutskikh of the Russian Federation agreed three times to interviews with Communications Daily but canceled each time.