US and Russia Cyber Security Partnership

The US and Russia have a agreed to establish a network for sharing information on cyber security threats and activities.

The two nations, speaking from the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland, said that the deal would allow the two governments to trade information on possible threats and better protect their infrastructure and militaries against attack.
Additionally, the pact will seek to provide direct communication to prevent the deployment of military forces between the two nuclear powers in response to cyber incidents that could be seen as acts of aggression.
Within the next month, the two nations will form a task force that will seek to establish the plan for the network, which will cover the spectrum of the information and communications technology (ICT) space.

The two countries said in a statement: “We affirm the importance of co-operation between the United States of America and the Russian Federation for the purpose of enhancing bilateral understanding in this area.
“We view this co-operation as essential to safeguarding the security of our countries, and to achieving security and reliability in the use of ICTs that are essential to innovation and global interoperability.”

The agreement also brings together two nations believed to be among the most active and advanced players in the cyber warfare and espionage games. Both the US and Russia have been accused of using hackers to gather intelligence on rival nations.
The agreement also comes as the US government looks to right itself following a disastrous disclosure on its domestic surveillance programmes. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed that multiple security agencies in the US operate and access a database known as PRISM, which collects data on user activity across a number of popular online services and networks.

Source http://www.v3.co.uk by Shaun Nichols