Cyber Confidence-Building Measures

CBM 12: Act jointly to reduce tensions

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

OSCEPartially implemented2016

Measure

CBM 12 (2016): Participating States will, on a voluntary basis, share information and facilitate inter-State exchanges in different formats, including workshops, seminars, and roundtables, including on the regional and/or subregional level; this is to investigate the spectrum of co-operative measures as well as other processes and mechanisms that could enable participating States to reduce the risk of conflict stemming from the use of ICTs. Such activities should be aimed at preventing conflicts stemming from the use of ICTs and at maintaining peaceful use of ICTs. With respect to such activities participating States are encouraged, inter alia, to:

  • Conduct such activities in the spirit of enhancing inter-State co-operation, transparency, predictability and stability;

  • Complement, through such activities, UN efforts and avoid duplicating work done by other fora; and

  • Take into account the needs and requirements of participating States taking part in such activities.

Participating States are encouraged to invite and engage representatives of the private sector, academia, centres of excellence and civil society in such activities.

Background: This CBM encourages participating states to voluntarily share information on regional and sub-regional activities and to organise or engage in cooperative initiatives at the national, regional, or subregional level. Its objective is to enhance transparency through the exchange of experiences and best practices while aligning with and complementing UN processes. Activities under this CBM are often inclusive, involving stakeholders such as the private sector, academia, and civil society, highlighting the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach to cybersecurity. Overall, CBM 12 aims to foster cooperation by supporting joint confidence-building efforts and promoting the sharing of knowledge and best practices.

Practice: To implement this CBM, participating states voluntarily share information and engage in inter-state exchanges through workshops, seminars, and roundtables at the national, regional, and subregional levels. Since 2017, the OSCE has organised subregional trainings bringing together small groups of states to share national updates and participate in tailored cybersecurity exercises. Many of these activities also support the implementation of other CBMs, such as workshops under CBM 6 (as part of the “regional capacity-building project on combating cybercrime in Central Asia”) or CBM 2 and CBM 4, making this CBM inherently cross-cutting and often implemented implicitly. CBM 12 is especially resource intensive, and is adopted by the EU, Switzerland, North Macedonia, and Poland.

The OSCE Secretariat’s TNTD also engages in cross-regional exchange focusing on sharing good practices on the development and implementation of cyber CBMs, exchanging regional perspectives on these processes, and discussing potential implementation challenges. Examples for such dialogues include the 2024 ECOWAS study visit to the OSCE, organised by the EU, Germany, and the CBM adopters. Representatives from the AU and the OAS also attended, further strengthening cross-regional dialogue. Another example is a joint interactive workshops as well as participation in the annual meeting of the OSCE national PoCs joined by representatives from Asian states, Australia, OAS and AU in 2026. To gain insight into how OSCE participating states exchange views and share national practices the representatives of these states and regional organisations also observed a meeting of the IWG.

Finally, another way of implementing this CBM is the TNTD participation in the UN OEWG contributing to the dialogue and sharing of good implementation practices there. Overall, this CBM is implemented, but not widely yet.

Key Implementation Activities and Resources

  • Participating states engage in (sub)regional workshops, seminars, trainings, and cross-regional exchanges including other regional organisations to share experiences and explore cooperative approaches to cyber confidence-building. Implementation is also supported by the OSCE’s TNTDs’ participation in international cybersecurity discussions and processes like the UN OEWG.