Cybersecurity is not just about the security of assets and information. Cyberattacks have also imperilled individuals’ safety, both because some cybersecurity laws have suppressed human rights and fundamental freedoms, and because malicious actors have undermined individuals’ safety online. Individual security, – whether offline or online, – should be a core purpose of cybersecurity; a secure Internet is central to the respect for human rights in the digital context. Cybersecurity measures should reinforce the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of information. These are essential to the security of the individual, especially in the digital context where physical security and digital information can be linked. Individuals cannot exercise their human rights if they do not have the security to do so. It therefore follows that cybersecurity and human rights are complementary, mutually reinforcing, and interdependent.
