Cybercrime has replaced nuclear war as the global threat

Globally accepted norms on internet privacy and data use must be agreed if the digital era is to be enjoyed by all, writes Carl Bildt

ONCE upon a time, two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, held summits to reduce the danger of a nuclear war. Today, the summitry is between the US and China, much of it to reduce confrontation in cyberspace.

How the world responds to cyber attacks will determine the extent to which future generations will benefit from the digital era. There is the the risk of conflict, but governments may overreact, erecting barriers to information that undermine the internet.