Research and education network leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region have officially signed a major declaration in Auckland, New Zealand, aimed at significantly strengthening cyber resilience. The collective action comes amid growing concerns regarding the profound impact that modern cyber incidents can exert on the critical digital infrastructure supporting academic research, higher education, and international scientific collaboration.
The newly established Auckland Declaration of Intent on Cyber Resilience was signed during the APAN62 conference. The agreement commits its signatories to working closely together across multiple critical domains, including trust-building, technical preparedness, proactive information sharing, coordinated incident management, and mutual operational support, ensuring that all collaborative efforts remain strictly aligned with applicable national laws and institutional policies.
Research and education networks serve a foundational role in enabling international academic collaboration. By providing researchers, educators, and institutions with seamless access to massive datasets, advanced high-performance computing platforms, specialized research facilities, and unique technical expertise, these networks form the backbone of modern scholarly discovery. However, as these specialized networks become increasingly interconnected across international borders, cyber incidents affecting a single organization or economy can trigger cascading consequences, impacting multiple nations simultaneously.
Signing on behalf of the APAN/Asi@Connect Leaders Forum, Roshan G. Ragel emphasized that the declaration fundamentally recognizes how true cyber resilience relies just as heavily on established human trust and cooperative relationships as it does on advanced technical security capabilities.
"Research and education networks do not operate in isolation," Ragel noted, highlighting the interconnected nature of the regional academic community. "When one part of our community is affected, others may need to help quickly, share information, or coordinate a response."
"This declaration is about building that trust before it is needed," he added.
Ragel further explained that formal regional cooperation is particularly vital because research and education communities are inherently international in their daily operations, scope, and objectives.
"Our users collaborate across economies, time zones, and institutions. The networks that support them need to be ready to do the same when disruption occurs," he said. "The declaration provides a practical foundation for strengthening cooperation while recognizing that each organization operates within its own national, legal, and institutional context."
Beyond immediate regional collaboration, the declaration strategically links local efforts with the Global Security Policy Alliance (GSPA), an international initiative designed to fortify security cooperation among research and education networks on a global scale. As part of this broader alignment, signatories will actively explore the establishment of a dedicated regional chapter, or a functionally similar governance structure, while carefully maintaining local operational priorities and institutional autonomy.
The high-profile declaration was formally endorsed by a diverse group of prominent leaders within the regional academic networking community. Signatories included Amber McEwen, Chief Executive Officer of REANNZ; Shinji Shimojo, Chair of the APAN Board; Jungsu Song, President of TEIN*CC; and Roshan G. Ragel.
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