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Digital technologies are becoming increasingly important for making and maintaining peace. Leveraging them can for example help mediators to better assess underlying conflict drivers prior to negotiations or bring opponents together in an inclusive, secure medium so that they may engage with one another on equal terms. In this way digital tools can support in the creation of peace processes that lead to sustainable peace. However, adversaries can use many of these same technologies to attack one another, spread hate speech and disinformation, and engage in other malicious activities that undermine people’s well-being and security.

By working together, WithSecure™ and CMI aim to develop awareness of the important role technology plays in peacemaking.

“As a European pioneer in the fight to secure digital environments, we know better than anyone how adversaries can use digital technologies to inflict harm. But we also know that technologies offer us valuable opportunities to connect, collaborate, and communicate in ways that can resolve differences and promote understanding between opponents. CMI’s work in this area has never been more important than it is now, and I’m happy WithSecure is able to support these efforts,” said WithSecure™ CEO Juhani Hintikka.

For over 20 years, Finland-based CMI has worked to prevent and resolve conflicts through mediation and dialogue globally. Although CMI has used technologies in their work since 2004, it wasn’t until 2020 that CMI made it an institutional priority and initiated its digital peacemaking project.

The two organizations have set three priorities as the backbone of their cooperation:
• Supporting mediators with the proper resources and training to better protect field operations and their participants from cyber attacks.
• Expanding mediators’ duty of care from protecting staff from physical harm to include securing personal information entrusted to them by vulnerable individuals and parties.
• Supporting mediators with expertise on the role cyber threats play in conflicts, and how to address those threats when performing mediation activities.

According to CMI’s CEO Janne Taalas, collaborating with organizations such as WithSecure™ is essential for the organization’s future work.

“CMI has decades of experience in preventing and resolving conflicts all over the world. The growing importance of cyber space is undeniable, and we need partners like WithSecure to ensure that we, as peacemakers, are able to respond to the challenges posed by the use of digital technologies but also to seize the opportunities these technologies offer for peace. Mastering digital technologies shapes the future of peacemaking,” he said.