The Quad countries (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States) on Friday announced a partnership to foster the development of secure technology.
At the first-ever in-person Leaders’ Summit of the Quad, the four committed to working together on initiatives to improve global health and infrastructure, to combat climate change, and ensure the security of critical and emerging technology.
The Quad committed to building trust, integrity and interoperability, but underlined that suppliers, vendors, and distributors are expected to ensure the transparency and accountability of their practices.
Furthermore, technology developers are expected to adopt a security-by-design approach, ensuring that robust safety and security practices are implemented in the development process.
“Resilient, diverse, and secure technology supply chains – for hardware, software, and services – are vital to our shared national interests,” a White House announcement reads. “Close cooperation on supply chains with allies and partners who share our values will enhance our security and prosperity, and strengthen our capacity to respond to international disasters and emergencies.”
Focused on ensuring improved resilience of critical infrastructure against cyber threats, the Quad will launch a Quad Senior Cyber Group, where experts will meet regularly to ensure close collaboration between government and industry on driving adoption of shared cyber standards, secure software development, and ensuring the cybersecurity of secure and trustworthy digital infrastructure.
Overall, the Quad pledged to support the development of critical and emerging technology that brings tangible benefits to society, which is designed and used in line with set principles and not misused for malicious activities, oppression, and disinformation.
The leaders also discussed other pressing global challenges, such as ending the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes increasing production and access to vaccines and ensuring that a similar pandemic would have lower impact; supporting 5G deployment and space collaboration; and combating the climate crisis.
Related: EU Announces New Joint Cyber Unit to Protect Against Critical Attacks
Related: UK Foreign Secretary Calls for Cooperation on Cybersecurity
