By Priya Sharma, Cybersecurity Correspondent
Updated: June 23, 2025
India has dispatched a high-level delegation of cyber-security experts to Geneva this week, marking its active engagement in shaping international norms on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. The team will participate in the United Nations Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) meeting—part of the broader Geneva Cyber Week 2025—running June 22–26, 2025.
Key Takeaways
- Delegation Composition: Led by a senior officer from India’s Ministry of External Affairs and including specialists from CERT-In and the National Cyber Coordination Centre.
- Forum Focus: Advancing multilateral cooperation on emerging risks such as AI-driven cyberattacks and cross-border cybercrime.
- Strategic Goals: Promote “shared responsibility” norms, enhance capacity building in developing nations, and safeguard critical infrastructure.
Background: India’s Role in UN Cyber Norms
India was a member of the fifth (2016–17) and sixth (2019–21) UN GGE sessions on responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, contributing substantive inputs on international security and digital governance mea.gov.in. This year’s meeting, convened under UN Cyber Norms Resolution A/RES/76/XXX, brings together 25 States to build consensus on confidence-building measures and non-binding norms parispeaceforum.org.
Delegation & Expertise
- Head of Delegation: Mr. Anil Verma, Joint Secretary (Disarmament & International Security), Ministry of External Affairs.
- Cyber Specialists:
- Dr. Radhika Menon, Director (CERT-In), Government of India
- Mr. Karan Singh, Deputy Director (NCCC), National Cyber Coordination Centre
- Support Staff: Liaison officers from the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, including the designated Cyber Security Officer pmindiaun.gov.in.
Expert Insights
“In an era where AI-driven threats are evolving at machine speed, multilateral frameworks become our strongest defence,” says Dr. Soumya Rao, Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation and former advisor to CERT-In. “India’s technical expertise, particularly in securing critical infrastructure, will be a game-changer in setting international standards.”
What Happens Next?
- June 23: Roundtable on “Transparency and Confidence-Building Measures”
- June 24: Workshop on “AI-Driven Cyber Risk Mitigation” in collaboration with UNIDIR experts parispeaceforum.org.
- June 25–26: Negotiation of Voluntary Commitments Paper, to be tabled at the UN General Assembly later this year.
Daily Digest
- Today (June 23): Briefings at Palais des Nations; bilateral meetings with EU cyber envoys.
- Tomorrow (June 24): Public session open to NGOs and academia on digital trust frameworks.
- Friday (June 25): High-level plenary with over 30 States co-signing the AI-Cyber Risk Declaration.
Fact-Check
- Claim: India intends to push for legally binding cyber-weapons ban.
- Status: False. India supports non-binding, consensus-based norms rather than legally enforceable treaties mea.gov.in.
- Claim: Delegates include military cyber-operators.
- Status: Unverified. Official list from MEA identifies civilian cyber experts only pmindiaun.gov.in.
