The US, Russia, and China -- three of today's major cyber-powers -- have not signed an international agreement on cybersecurity rules and principles released at the Paris Peace Forum by French President Emmanuel Macron.
The pact was signed by 51 other countries, 72 companies which are part of The Cybersecurity Tech Accord, 16 companies which are part of The Charter of Trust, 136 other private companies, and 92 non-profit organization, universities, and advocacy groups.
The Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, as the agreement has been named, is the most comprehensive, coordinated effort to date to get countries to agree on a set of international rules for cyberspace -- a so-called Digital Geneva Convention.
Microsoft Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith has been advocating for such a pact since 2017 after the exec had seen the damage done to the private sector by the NotPetya ransomware outbreak, which was later proved to be the work of Russian state cyber-operatives attempting to wreak havoc inside Ukraine.
Besides the US, China, and Russia, Australia and New Zealand didn't sign the pact either. Only Canada and the UK were the only countries from the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group to sign the pact.
Other countries with important and active cyber units that didn't sign the pact include Iran, Israel, and North Korea.
Without the signatures of these "heavy hitters," the pact is useless, albeit many suspect it was only a PR stunt. The pact was signed a day after world leaders celebrated 100 years since the end of World War I.
The pact doesn't include any penalties for those who signed yet have broken the agreement's clauses. The document is more of a charter and declaration of intent to sign a future, more comprehensive agreement.
The Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace proposes the following measures and steps: