BI.ZONE now part of the Global Advisory Board on digital threats

BI.ZONE now part of the Global Advisory Board on digital threats

BI.ZONE welcomes the launch of the International Committee of the Red Cross’ (ICRC) Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict
June 22, 2021

The board consists of 16 members from different countries with expertise in multiple fields: legal, political, military and digital. The ICRC invited BI.ZONE’s CEO Dmitry Samartsev as the representative of one of Russia’s leading cybersecurity companies.

Other board members include experts from Stanford and Oxford Universities, Microsoft, a former Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs and other organizations. The full list of participants can be found on the ICRC website.

The board held its first meeting on June 9, 2021. Going forward, the board is scheduled to meet twice a year and focus on several areas of defense against digital and cyberthreats during armed conflicts:

  • protecting civilian infrastructure against hostile cyber operations
  • protecting civilians against the negative effects of information campaigns during armed conflict

The ICRC is seeking experts’ advice on a variety of cyberthreats and digital risks, such as the increasing use of automation and artificial intelligence in cyber operations, the new humanitarian risks associated with the exponential growth of the Internet of things, and the growing number of threat sources in the digital space.


As the world is digitalizing, so are armed conflicts. Through the Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict, the ICRC is pleased to work with leading tech, political, legal and military experts on how to protect civilians from new and constantly evolving digital threats
Peter Maurer
President ICRC

The use of digital technologies has become a reality of military operations. And while technological advances do yield many benefits for the protection of civilians in such conflicts, new tools and methods of warfare, like cyberattacks, can still pose a very real threat to civilians. The board has brought together the best experts to ensure that international humanitarian law is respected in all situations. I am honored to become one of the first members of the ICRC board and hope that BI.ZONE’s expertise and knowledge will help the global community cope with these new challenges
Dmitry Samartsev
CEO of BI.ZONE
#collaboration