A Global Cybersecurity Pact: It’s Necessary. But is it Possible?

This month’s University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law’s Tech&Law Breakfast talk was given by Vigjilenca Abazi, Assistant Professor of European Law at Maastricht University. The topic: A global cybersecurity pact.

The key takeaways: We clearly need a pact, pronto, but it ain’t going to happen right now. We might’ve seen some positive movements, such as the 2018 Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace. But we’re going to have to overcome a number of stumbling blocks first. Not least, getting the USA, Russia and China to the table. Filling the void is the private sector. Where states are unwilling to reach an agreement, companies are looking to develop a Digital Geneva Convention. But really? Do we trust companies to regulate themselves?

A global pact may be just too ambitious at this moment. So in the meantime, we must continue to work at regional and national levels to increase cyber awareness and cyber efforts.

Photo of Vigjilenca Abazi, Assistant Professor of European Law at Maastricht University talking at University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law's Tech&Law Breakfast

TechTorget, Oslo

This month saw the inaugural launch of TechTorget in Oslo. The event was brought together by Peter van Dam, Chief Digital Officer at Simonsen Vogt Wiig, and Erik Ødegaard, with the full support and collaboration of the Norwegian Bar Association. 

The event aims to provide the legal sector with an overview of legal tech solutions that are proven and available to legal practitioners to implement right now.

“We saw the legal sector and vendors using enormous amounts of time to meet each other. So we created a sort of marketplace for them.”  

Photo of TechTorget event in Oslo
TechTorget’s inaugural event in Oslo

Spending just 2-3 hours at the event, says van Dam, can help lawyers to stay informed on the many vendors they would otherwise be unaware of in the market who are providing some great solutions.  

What’s more, the event makes future legal tech concrete. It can really demonstrate how, through small steps and investing in real solutions, the legal industry has nothing to fear as it prepares for that future.