There are no globally accepted behavioral norms for the players of cyberspace. As a result cyber crimes and frauds are becoming the order of the day in this arena. It is fraught with rising danger and insecurity.
The situation in the cyberspace today is comparable to the anarchy of the High Seas before maritime or admiralty law came into force. After several rounds of negotiations for almost a decade the Law of the Sea evolved. Without peace and order on the High Seas, ushered in by the rule of maritime law, multilateral world trade would not have been possible.
It is also high time that the different nations start negotiations at the global level to explore the possible criteria for a globally acceptable Law of the Cyberspace. The participants at the rounds of discussions on this agenda should be drawn from different stakeholders from different cross sections comprising the government, users, private sector and the society, to make the deliberations more meaningful and effective.
The domain of cyberspace is a contemporary issue of global concern like environmental hazard or international terrorism. The threat concerns all countries without exception. However, surprisingly the global response to this challenge is at best sporadic and leaves much to be desired.
