Brazil’s president says cyberspace must not be used as a ‘weapon of war’

UNITED NATIONS — Delivering a harsh indictment of U.S. cyber-surveillance, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday called on the United Nations to get involved with helping nations safeguard themselves from cyber-snooping by other countries. “Information and telecommunication technologies cannot be the new battlefield between states,” said Rousseff, who delivered the opening address at the 68th U.N. General Assembly. “Time is ripe to create the conditions to prevent cyberspace from being used as a weapon of war, through espionage, sabotage, and attacks against systems and infrastructure of other countries.” Rousseff was responding to leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that indicated the U.S. National Security Agency intercepted her communications with Cabinet members as well as those of Brazil’s U.N. mission and Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company.