3/4/22, 1:38 PM Managing a digital revolution: cyber security capacity building in Myanmar - Routledge Companion to Global Cyber-Security Strategy companies doing so in a manner that highlights their corporate social responsibility. A 2013 Human Rights Watch report underlined the potential positive impacts of the Internet and digitalization in societies such as Myanmar. However, the report also stressed the risk that this technology would be used by the regime to crack down on dissent, used for illegal surveillance, and as a way to enforce censorship. The call was for companies involved in improving the ICT- infrastructure in Myanmar to refrain from cooperating with the government on matters that would undermine the rights of its citizens (HRW, 2013). Whether the companies do so is up for debate. The smaller of the companies is Ooredoo, which has no clear published guidelines and a spotty record on protecting the rights of its users. The company in fact has a history of accepting censorship by the Qatari government and installing filters in accordance with the wishes of autocratic regimes (Calderaro, 2014). Telenor on the other hand is widely regarded as having one of the more advanced policies on social responsibility, however there are some concerns raised over its shutting down of its services at the behest of the Thai military junta in 2014. There are also some uncertainties over the extent to which telephone operators are willing to pass information over to the government and whether these policies are clearly enough formulated to withstand potential pressures (Calderaro, 2014). The way forward When addressing the question of Myanmar’s preparedness and development on the issue of cyber security, a starting point is mapping the landscape of digital infrastructure and its trajectory. The infrastructure in Myanmar is disproportionately based on mobile broadband access and not fixed broadband, which translates into lower speeds and worse service. Myanmar is thus a typical case of early stage Internet development, while there has been an immense growth in spreading internet coverage nationally, the underlying structure and backbone of the Internet remains weak. This is important as most websites, both foreign and domestic, are based on servers outside the borders of Myanmar. A stable connection to the outside world is thus important to gain access to most of the https://ebrary.net/173520/political_science/managing_digital_revolution_cyber_security_capacity_building_myanmar#aftercont 13/19