Leader of Microsoft’s Cybersecurity and Democracy Team talked about the need for a Digital Geneva Convention in a conference put together by the Personal Democracy Forum, an organization dedicated to building new policy around “technology’s impact on government, politics, media, and democratic societies”. Jan Neutze leads the Microsoft Cybersecurity & Democracy Team at Microsoft Corp in Redmond, WA. From his bio:

Jan leads Microsoft’s efforts on protecting societies from cyber conflict, including by advancing a Digital Geneva Convention, working with governments and non-government stakeholders around the world. From 2013 to 2017, Jan built up and managed Microsoft’s cybersecurity program in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). In that role Jan lead a team of policy and technical experts based in Brussels, Belgium with a focus on cybersecurity policy and regulatory issues as well as a range of strategic projects aimed at managing geopolitical risk. Jan has served in a range of advisory roles on cybersecurity policy issues, including the Permanent Stakeholder Group of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) from 2015-2017, advising the EU agency’s leadership; as well as the Global Commission on Cyber Stability (GCSC) for which Jan serves on the management board. Prior to taking on Microsoft’s EMEA cybersecurity portfolio, Jan worked in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing (TwC) group at Microsoft headquarters focusing on cybersecurity public policy and cybersecurity norms, as well as engaging with partners from government, international organizations, and academia.

Jan joined Microsoft from the United Nations Headquarters where he served for three years in the UN Secretary-General’s Executive Office and in the Department of Political Affairs, leading a range of cybercrime and counterterrorism projects. Prior to his work at the UN, Jan managed transatlantic policy projects at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the Atlantic Council of the United States. Jan is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) and holds a J.D. from the University of Muenster, Germany as well as an M.A. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Jan Neutze will also took part in a workshop titled, “Cybersecurity and election 2018” at during the Personal Democracy Forum along with Jessica Huseman, Amy Cohen and Shauna Daly in a discussion facilitated by Dave Leichtman, Democratic Advisor for the Campaign Tech Services group at Microsoft. The workshop spoke about “what is hype and what is truly worrisome about the state of election security today, what state election directors are doing to better guard their systems from abuse, and how campaigns and advocacy organizations need to upgrade their own security systems and processes”.

The video of Neutze’s speech titled, “Cybersecurity, Democracy and a Digital Geneva Convention“, is about 30 minutes. Take a look: