Microsoft President Says Tech Industry Should Be 'Neutral Digital Switzerland'

RSA CONFERENCE - SAN FRANCISCO - Amid a cacophony of discussions about retaliation for nation-state cyberattacks here, Microsoft president and chief legal officer Brad Smith, today, took a different tack - urging the global tech industry to stay politically neutral, regardless of where they're headquartered.

"Instead of nation-states being met by other nation-states, they are being met by us," the cybersecurity and tech sector, Smith said. "We are the first responders.

"Even in an age of rising nationalism, we need to be a neutral digital Switzerland," Smith said. "We will assist and protect customers everywhere. We will not aid in attacking customers anywhere."

The world needs to retain its trust in technology, he said, and every government, regardless of its policies, needs a government IT that it can trust.

Smith also proposed a "Digital Geneva Convention" to set the international laws and procedures for cyber conflict, as well as the establishment of a new and independent oversight organization with the international credibility to monitor and attribute cyber attacks.