HIGHLY COMMENDED – ALEJANDRO FERAT

A soft-law approach for addressing the cybersecurity pacing problem

The widespread use of technologies, as well as their economic incentives, has caused the process of technological innovation to accelerate at dizzying rates, giving rise to the emergence of the Pacing Problem in cybersecurity: the gap between the speed at which new digital technologies appear and the creation of laws and policies that regulate their operation and ensure the security of users' information.

Therefore, this essay presents a series of public policy proposals that combine traditional laws and soft governance instruments to guarantee the mandatory implementation of security controls while allowing the necessary flexibility to update them as technologies evolve.
This approach provides a legal framework that guarantees privacy rights for users of online technologies and requires secure digital operating environments for companies while assisting them by guiding their efforts to address the complex challenge posed by cyber threats.