Can a few like-minded states, IGOs and neutral INGOs radically increase the privacy and accountability of sensitive non-classified mobile communications of both elected officials and millions of targeted citizens, build in the process the first global democratic digital public sphere?
We extend our gratitude to the participants of the 9th Edition of the Free and Safe in Cyberspace in Geneva last March 15-16th, and their contribution to making it a great success!
We await you for the 10th Edition this next May 11th, 2023 anticipated by preparatory meeting in Geneva/Zoom on April 19th and 26th, and May 3rd !
Concurrently with the 2023 UN World Summit on the Information Society, this last March 15-16th, 2023, in Geneva, we held the 9th Edition of the Free and Safe in Cyberspace (“FSC9”).
In a series of workshops, delegates of like-minded states, IGOs and neutral INGOs learned about a new cybersecurity capacity-building, cyber diplomacy, and joint venture initiative to radically increase both the security and accountability of day-to-day mobile communications of government officials, diplomats, prime ministers, and citizens alike, while enhancing national and international legitimate lawful access, the Trustless Computing Certification Body (TCCB) and Seevik Net Initiative.
In continuation with the 8th Edition, in Geneva last June 2021, which established the TCCB as a legal Swiss entity, FSC9 sought to further consolidate and expand the interest of an initial group of cofounder entities, capped at no more than 7 globally-diverse states, 2 IGOs and 3 neutral INGOs.
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.
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 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 causing significant damage to their governmental institutions and their trust relations with allies and third nations.
Access : Online registration required. Fill registration at the bottom of this page.
Where: Espace Violeta Parra, on the 1st floor of the venue of the UN WSIS 2023 UN Summit, on Rue de Varembé 17, Geneva.
What: Learn about the Initiative, ask questions, meet other prospective partners, explore partnership opportunities for states, IGOs and neutral INGOs.
Agenda:
10.00 - Welcome and quick intro by Rufo Guerreschi
10:15 - The Problem of mobile security, its Size and Current Solutions
Mika Lauhde. Head of IT R&D at ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross. Previously at Nokia, Huawei, ENISA, and member of the security advisory boards of the EU Commission and the Republic of Finland. Advisor to Trustless Computing Association since 2016.
10:30 - Introduction to the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative
Rufo Guerreschi, Executive Director of the Trustless Computing Association.
11:00 - Question & Answers
11.45 - Self-introduction by participants
12:00 - end of Session
12:15 - optional lunch among participants in the WSIS Cafeteria
13.00 - End of lunch
Access & Fee: restricted, FULL (no more seats available)
Where: @ Trustless Computing Association headquarters on Rue Fendt 1, Geneva.
What: Explore deeper the Initiative, and jointly discuss improvements of the initiative nature, governance and socio-technical paradigms.
Agenda:
16:00 - Detailed introduction to the Trustless Computing Paradigms, the statute of Trustless Computing Certification Body, and the TCCB Cofounders Agreement.
16.45 - Question & Answers
17.15 - Open deliberative discourse among participants to improve the nature, governance and basic documents of the initiative
17:45 - Closing statements by the Convenor
18.00 - End
19:30 - Optional dinner among participants at La Romana restaurant, 3 minute walk away from the WSIS venue.
Access : Open to all registered WSIS attendees.
Where: Inspire Stage, on the ground floor of the venue of the UN WSIS 2023 UN Summit, on Rue de Varembé 17, Geneva.
Link to session on WSIS 2023 site: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/forum/2023/Agenda/Session/171
What: Learn about the Initiative in an open setting, and ask questions.
Agenda:
10.00 - Introduction to the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative, via a TedX style talk.
Rufo Guerreschi, Executive Director of the Trustless Computing Association,
10.25 - Question & Answers with participants
10.45 - End of Session and start of networking in the hallway
11.00 - End
Access : Online registration required. Fill registration at the bottom of this page..
Where: Espace Violeta Parra, on the 1st floor of the venue of the UN WSIS 2023 UN Summit, on Rue de Varembé 17, Geneva.
What: Learn about the Initiative, ask questions, meet other prospective partners.
Agenda:
16.00 - Welcome and quick intro by Rufo Guerreschi
16:10 - The Problem of mobile security, its Size and Current Solutions
Mika Lauhde. Head of IT R&D at ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross. Previously at Nokia, Huawei, ENISA, and member of the security advisory boards of the EU Commission and the Republic of Finland. Advisor to Trustless Computing Association since 2016.
Paul Nemitz, Principal Advisor of the Directorate General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission. Advisor to the Trustless Computing Association since 2019.
16:30 - Introduction to the Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative.
Rufo Guerreschi, Executive Director of the Trustless Computing Association.
17.00 - Question & Answers
17.45 - Self-introduction by participants
18:00 - end
19.30 - optional dinner among participants at La Romana restaurant, 4 minutes away from WSIS venue.
The Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net Initiative is an NGO-driven cybersecurity capacity-building, cyber diplomacy, and join venture initiative that is aggregating a critical mass of states, intergovernmental organizations and neutral INGOs to jointly build and govern a new global digital infrastructure for sensitive non-classified mobile computing, governance structure for its joint management, and mechanisms for their national and international legitimate lawful access.
The initiative entails the creation of: (1) Trustless Computing Certification Body (TCCB), a new intergovernmental IT security standards-setting, certification and governance body established in Geneva last June 2021, and (2) Seevik Net, an initial set of TCCB-compliant mobile IT systems, ecosystems and solutions, based on transparency, neutrality, multilateralism, and time-tested democratic oversight and governance models, and open source, globally-supported, battle-tested, low-level IT platforms, based on Sel4 operating systems and Risc-V processors.
Seevik Net will include a multinational TCCB-compliant set of hosting rooms, messaging apps for mainstream mobile stores, and 2mm-thin mobile devices carried in custom leather wallets or embedded in the back of any global commercial smartphone.
Such a new mobile form factor and product class enables such systems to conveniently complement today's hegemonic mobile devices, apps and services that we've all grown dependent on, instead of trying to outright replace them.
Given how central neutrality is to our Initiative, the current cyber superpowers US, China and Israel are all individually welcome to join the FSC9 and FSC10 workshops but, while welcome to join the Initiative, will be accepted only when they do so concurrently.
If interested to attend, start by reviewing this web page, then our Trustless Computing Certification Body and Seevik Net web page.
Then download, feel free to review and share internally the following documents:
A 30-page Executive Summary outlining the opportunity for your organization (PDF A4), prefaced by a 5-page Summary.
A 33-page Slides Introduction of TCA, TCCB and Seevik Net (PDF slides).
Available upon request:
A Brochure of the FSC9 and FSC10 Workshops (pdf), mostly an export of the event webpage.
A 25-page TCCB & Seevik Net Traction Update (pdf) that details our engagements, over the last 2 years, with over 10 states, IGOs and INGOs interested to join the initiative (available after agreement to confidentiality terms).
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.
Logistical and administrative inquiries:
Team at Trustless Computing Association
info@trustlesscomputing.org
Participation inquiries:
Rufo Guerreschi, Founder and Executive Director of the Trustless Computing Association
rufo@trustlesscomputing.org
Signal/WhatsApp/Telegram +41799137280 - Mobile +393289376075
“We cannot strike a balance between personal freedom and public safety in Cyberspace, as in a “zero-sum game”. It’s a “both or neither” challenge whose solution is paramount to protecting and enhancing human freedom, democracy and safety in the Digital and AI Age.”
