The global postal network plays a vital role in facilitating trade, communication, and economic development. However, the increasing reliance on digital technologies and interconnectedness has exposed the postal sector to cyber threats that can disrupt operations, compromise sensitive data, and undermine trust. This workshop will explore the potential role of a global Postal Sector Information Sharing and Analysis Centre (POST-ISAC) in strengthening the cybersecurity posture and cyber resilience of the postal, supply chain, and logistics sector worldwide.

Key Objectives

• Raise awareness of the cyber threats facing the postal sector and their potential impact on developing countries.
• Discuss the benefits of establishing a POST-ISAC to facilitate information sharing, threat intelligence, and collaborative response.
• Highlight the role of the UPU in promoting cybersecurity best practices and supporting the development of a POST-ISAC.
• Explore the potential of the .POST Top Level Domain and the UPU .POST Cybersecurity Framework in enhancing trust and security in the digital postal ecosystem.
• Identify the specific needs and challenges of developing countries, particularly SIDS, LDCs, LLDCs, and ACP countries, in strengthening their postal cybersecurity capabilities.

Session Outline 

Introduction: Setting the scene and highlighting the importance of postal cybersecurity in the digital age.

• Cyber Threats to the Postal Sector: Overview of current and emerging cyber threats, including ransomware, phishing, data breaches, and supply chain attacks.

• The Case for a POST-ISAC: Benefits of information sharing, early warning, and coordinated response in mitigating cyber risks.

• The Role of the UPU: Leveraging the UPU's global reach and expertise to promote cybersecurity best practices and support the development of a POST-ISAC.

• .POST and the UPU .POST Cybersecurity Framework: Enhancing trust and security in the digital postal ecosystem. Focus on Developing Countries: Addressing the specific needs and challenges of SIDS, LDCs, LLDCs, and ACP countries in strengthening their postal cybersecurity capabilities. Interactive Discussion: Q&A session and open discussion on the potential role of a POST-ISAC and the way forward.

The session will led by topic discussants, with full participation and engagement from all meeting participants both online and onsite throughout the meeting.

Interactive tools such as Polling and Mentimeter will be employed to facilitate and encourage interaction from online and onsite participants.

Background: Since its inception at IGF Kyoto, the Digital Emblem initiative is enhancing global peace and stability by creating a universally recognized symbol that signifies protected digital infrastructure during times of armed conflict. This initiative is inspired by the Geneva Conventions' Red Cross emblem, which marks specifically protected people, objects, and places. An emblem is a device, symbol, or figure adopted and used as an identifying mark to represent a particular person, group, or idea. In culture, emblems such as a flag, badge or coat of arms communicate group identity. Such emblems are often comprised of a set of attributes, each with symbolic meaning. To date, this initiative has: 1.) Achieved International legal consensus in that all 196 states that have signed the Geneva Conventions adopted a resolution supporting the work on the digital emblem and a legal study on its use. 2.) Established an engineering protocol working group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to create standardized governance protocols for the Digital Emblem. This group is tasked with developing the technical standards necessary for its implementation. 3.) Secured adoption by Cyber Tech Accord signatories, on International Human Rights Day, over 160 Cyber Tech Accord signatories pledged to support the digital emblem. This broad commitment from the tech industry signifies a collective effort to integrate and uphold the principles of the digital emblem. Under International Humanitarian Law (IHL), the Red Cross, Red Crescent, and Red Crystal emblems are symbols of protection – used to identify persons and objects that benefit from certain specific protections under that body of law. Today often these emblems/symbols require a sense of sight, or touch to become known to the receiver. There is a need to sense emblems/symbols through digital communication channels. Digital emblems extend the range of identifying marks from the physical (visual and tactile) to the digital realm. The presence of a digital emblem represents a new signal available to cyber operators. Objective: The primary goal of this session is to demonstrate tangible progress within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) that is developing a digital emblem based on international humanitarian law and security standards. This digital emblem project includes engineering comprehensive architecture and model that defines a standard digital emblem to be used globally. This group will then address specific initial use cases such as in the technology sector and government. What participants will gain from attending the session: Participants will gain a clear understanding of the progress made toward the creation and standardization of a Digital Emblem, why it matters. and how this will be deployed once the standards will be available. Experts will share insights into the ongoing work at the IETF, the challenges and opportunities for legal recognition, and how different stakeholders, from governments to the private sector, can contribute to its operationalization. Attendees will also learn about real-world implications of the Digital Emblem and how it can enhance cyber protections for humanitarian organizations, medical facilities, and other specially protected entities in future conflicts. Policy Questions: - Why is the standardization of a digital emblem necessary for protecting critical civilian digital infrastructure during armed conflict, and how does it build on existing legal protections under international humanitarian law? - How has the development of the Digital Emblem progressed within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and what key milestones have been achieved so far? - How can the international community, including governments, industry, and civil society, contribute to the successful deployment and enforcement of the Digital Emblem once standards are finalized? - Why is there a need to create a digital emblem to protect digital infrastructure and services during times of armed conflict? - What are the technical, legal, and diplomatic challenges of standardizing a digital emblem, and what strategies can stakeholders take to ensure its adoption and implementation? - From technological standards to legally binding obligations. How to make a digital emblem a reality?

This open forum will feature a 20-minute keynote, a 30-minute moderated panel discussion, and a 20-minute Q&A. Using a theater setup, panelists will discuss the cyberthreat landscape, especially in terms of destruction and disruption of specially protected civilian digital assets, describe the work at the IETF to standardize the technology, and ongoing initiatives and diplomatic processes. The 60-minute format ensures a focused agenda while accommodating attendees' schedules. A dedicated Q&A session will foster meaningful dialogue between panelists and the audience. This structure allows panelists to provide comprehensive insights, helping attendees understand cybersecurity challenges posed by digital infrastructure and propose actionable steps to protect civilians globally.

WSIS+20 Review and SDGs: A Collaborative Global Dialogue 

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has played a pivotal role in shaping global efforts to harness digital technologies for development. During the WSIS+10 review, the WSIS-SDG Matrix was developed to illustrate the linkages between WSIS Action Lines and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, the Global Digital Compact also plays a crucial role, as it emphasises the importance of aligning digital cooperation efforts with the SDGs, ensuring that digital transformation contributes meaningfully to achieving these global goals.   As we approach the WSIS+20 milestone, there is an opportunity to deepen this integration by developing comprehensive strategies to effectively leverage digital technologies in achieving specific SDG targets. 
The European Union is committed to engaging stakeholders in brainstorming and discussions on this topic to shape a forward-looking and inclusive approach. This Open Forum session aims to facilitate a collaborative dialogue.  The discussion will focus on:

• Evaluating Past Efforts: Reflecting on the outcomes of the WSIS+10 review, particularly the effectiveness of the WSIS-SDG Matrix, and identifying areas for enhanced alignment.
• Proposing Collaborative Strategies: Exploring the development of detailed, actionable strategies that outline how specific digital initiatives can drive progress toward individual SDGs, drawing also inspiration from the methodology developed by the UN for the elaboration of STI4SDG roadmaps.
• Engaging Diverse Stakeholders: Encouraging collaboration among governments, international organizations, the private sector, civil society, and academia to co-create these strategies and ensure their successful implementation.

Session Approach:
The session will begin with brief presentations from each panelist, highlighting their organization's efforts in aligning digital initiatives with the SDGs. This will be followed by an interactive discussion, encouraging input from both onsite and online participants, to coalesce ideas on formulating effective strategies. The goal is to emerge with a set of actionable recommendations that the EU and its partners can pursue in the lead-up to the WSIS+20 review.

• Issues: Despite previous efforts, gaps remain in effectively integrating digital strategies with SDG implementation plans. There is also a need for more detailed guidance on leveraging digital technologies for specific SDG targets.
• Challenges: Developing universally applicable strategies is challenging due to varying levels of digital infrastructure, policy environments, and socio-economic contexts across countries.
• Opportunities: The upcoming WSIS+20 review presents a timely opportunity to reassess and strengthen the role of digital technologies in sustainable development. By collaborating on the development of detailed strategies, the EU can work alongside global partners to foster partnerships and drive innovation.

The open forum session organised by UNICRI and ALT Advisory aims to present the findings of an upcoming research report on cybercrime and access to justice in Africa and learn from participants’ expertise for the development and implementation of future programmatic activities to fill gaps identified in the report. Through the analysis of selected countries as case studies (Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Uganda), the report outlines the common trends in cybercrime and online harms, examines the challenges national law enforcement agencies face in conducting investigations, and considers the obstacles victims encounter in reporting cybercrime and online harms and in seeking fair redress. The key focus of the session is to elaborate on practical solutions and brainstorm on their implementations, starting with the recommendations identified in the report. This session also aims to be an opportunity for UNICRI to briefly outline its approach to addressing cybercrime and online harms through action-oriented research on niche thematic areas, capacity-building activities involving technology companies, technical assistance to Member States and policy-making. During the session, UNICRI and ALT Advisory strive to reflect on the report’s recommendations and gather participants’ feedback on their feasibility and relevance, as well as explore collaboratively how some of these recommendations could be implemented at the national and regional levels. Particularly, the session will focus on four main recommendations identified for the key opportunities they represent and the multi-stakeholder approach they require: developing model laws; creating coding systems for cybercrime and practical standard operation procedures; establishing clear reporting processes; and implementing “Know Your Rights” campaign. While the report analysed these recommendations within four selected countries (Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Uganda), the session aims to collect insights from other African countries and globally. 
 

This session will address the challenges deriving from the use of Artificial Intelligence tools generating and spreading disinformation and the distinctive threats these pose to democratic dialogue. The quality of public debate is threatened at various level, ranging from false content spreading at large scale, unlikely to be tackled solely by human intervention, to the propagation of false information by individuals who consider it as true and share it in good faith.

Starting with a presentation of the Council of Europe Guidance Note on countering the spread of online mis- and disinformation through factchecking and platform design solutions in a human rights’ compliant manner, participants will discuss practical measures policymakers and stakeholders can take, such as support for fact-checking, platform-design solutions and user empowerment. The session will also examine the role and responsibilities of digital platforms in both the dissemination of false AI generated information and the promotion of quality journalism.

Bringing together media professionals, AI experts, policymakers, and other stakeholder, the conversation will highlight AI’s dual role—both as a potential vehicle for producing and distributing disinformation when misused, and as a tool for enhancing fact-based information and play a positive role in enabling a safe, inclusive and favourable online environment for participation in public debate.

Panellists will share their experiences, challenges, and strategies for combating AI-driven disinformation and the efforts put in place to maintaining trust in news production. The discussion will also address the challenges arising in this context from the rising use of generative Artificial Intelligence systems, including key technologies like deepfakes, highlighting the need for regular updates and careful vigilance in understanding disinformation.

To foster an interactive and inclusive dialogue, audience members — both onsite and online — will be encouraged to ask direct questions and actively engage in the discussion. 

The session will conclude with a summary of key takeaways, reinforcing the importance of assessing AI potential benefits and risks in countering the spread of online mis- and disinformation.