China has allowed Microsoft, Cisco, Intel and IBM to join its Technical Committee 260 (TC260) , part of the government’s cyberspace administration and in charge of defining cybersecurity standards, the Wall Street Journal reported. The companies will now be able to take an active part in drafting rules, rather than participating only as observers, sources familiar with the discussions said. Representatives from Microsoft and Cisco confirmed the companies are members. IBM and Intel were not immediately available for comment.
Over the past few months, the committee’s seven working groups, which focus on encryption, big data and other cybersecurity issues, have each met at least once. The committee that the foreign companies are a part of is at the front of the struggle over whether China will adopt standards that deviate from international norms. TC260 has the task of defining what technologies are “secure and controllable,” people familiar with the committee said. Other standards TC260 is grappling with include those for rapidly evolving sectors like cloud computing and big data, the people said.
Originally comprised of 48 members, TC260 was expanded in January to 81 members, mainly consisting of Chinese officials and representatives of domestic technology companies. The Cyberspace Administration of China, the internet regulator that TC260 reports to, signaled a change in tone in its latest cyber-directives, issued on 22 August. As with previous ones, the new guidelines urge stricter controls on cybersecurity, but they place new emphasis on setting common standards across China’s national and local governments and in influencing global rule making.
Aside from opening up the committee, Beijing has tried to show it is responsive to foreign concerns on cybersecurity in other ways. It suspended rules that would have required the financial sector to prove its equipment is “secure and controllable” through intrusive testing and information disclosure. National security and counterterrorism laws that were passed last year and that require tech companies to support government security efforts rolled back some requirements such as encryption code handover. In July, China took the unusual move of releasing its draft Cybersecurity Law for a second round of public comment.
