Joint Statement of the Quad Senior Cyber Group

Based on the discussion of Quad Senior Cyber Group 3rd In-person Meeting of Principles which was held in Tokyo the on December 5 and 6, the head of delegation of each country issued the following Joint Press Release of the Quad Senior Group on December 14.

We — Deputy Secretary Cyber and Infrastructure Security Hamish Hansford of Australia’s Department of Home Affairs, National Cyber Security Coordinator Lt General MU Nair of India, Deputy National Security Advisor and Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Keiichi Ichikawa of Japan, and Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger of the United States of America – met in Tokyo, Japan for the third in-person Quad Senior Cyber Group (QSCG) Principal Meeting, hosted by Deputy National Security Advisor and Assistant Chief Cabinet Secretary Keiichi Ichikawa.

Together, we reaffirm our steadfast commitment to an Indo-Pacific that is resilient and equipped to detect and deter cyber attacks. Quad countries are among the world’s leaders in advancing digital technology, connectivity, and resilience and are undertaking efforts to provide capacity building in the Indo-Pacific region to strengthen the ability to defend their government networks and critical infrastructure from cyber disruptions.

We reaffirmed the application of international law to cyberspace and expressed serious concern about cyber attacks in the region on critical infrastructure.

During the meeting, we welcomed progress on Quad cyber initiatives. We reaffirmed our support for the Quad Cybersecurity Partnership: Joint Principles, including through work done in Secure Software, Cybersecurity of Critical Infrastructure, Supply Chain resilience and security, Cyber awareness through the Quad Cyber Challenge events to encourage participants across the Indo-Pacific for enhancing their cyber security and cyber awareness. We also welcomed the idea of sharing cyber resources through capacity building projects, to improve the security of infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific. We also shared the recognition that a safe and secure cyberspace contributes to a healthy and secure society, and that international cooperation is key to this.

Based on the shared recognition that cyber attacks have been increasing in frequency and sophistication, we discussed the importance of enhanced cooperation on securing the resilience of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT) systems in critical infrastructure ; ensuring mutual recognition of Quad nations’ labeling schemes for cybersecurity of Internet of Things (IoT) products; and the use of critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. We also reaffirmed the need for reliable, secure and resilient supply chains for critical sectors.

We discussed our fields of cooperation necessary to realize secure and resilient cyberspace in the region including digital infrastructure and connectivity such as undersea cables, telecommunications networks, and cloud services. We will continue to work together with Indo-Pacific countries to deliver practical outcomes that will support capacity building in the region through the QSCG.

We reaffirm our commitment to leveraging Quad partners’ respective strengths and resources to progressing Quad cyber initiatives to promote a more secure cyber space and deliver Quad Leaders’ vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient, with a focus on the next Quad Leaders’ Meeting.

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