UK Foreign Office Roundup for November 11: UK and France Launch Industry Guidelines for Commercial Cyber Intrusion in Paris, Endorsed by 14 Countries
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) published the Pall Mall Process Guidelines for Industry on GOV.UK on November 11. The guidelines were launched jointly by the Governments of the United Kingdom and France at the 3rd Pall Mall Process Conference in Paris, and are addressed to businesses that develop, sell and use commercial cyber intrusion capabilities, setting expectations for responsible behaviour across that market. This entry is recorded for the UK station.
The Pall Mall Process was launched by the UK and France in February 2024 as an ongoing international process to build a framework for responsible behaviour across the commercial cyber intrusion market. States, companies and civil society groups signed the non-binding Pall Mall Declaration, organised around four guiding pillars: accountability, precision, oversight and transparency, in response to the shared threat posed by the misuse of capabilities such as commercial spyware. A Code of Practice for States followed in April 2025.
The new industry guidelines complement that code. They set out practical recommendations endorsed by states and to be implemented by the industry, with three stated aims: to disincentivise irresponsible activity across the market, to improve transparency for regulators, vendors and customers, and to provide clarity for businesses operating both within and peripherally to the industry. They were shaped by substantial consultation and negotiation with states, industry, academia and civil society on good practice.
Fourteen countries are named as endorsing the guidelines: Austria, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The full text is published as a document alongside the Foreign Office page.
Related: UK Foreign Office Roundup for November 11: G7 Joint Declaration Published in London
(Source: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Source: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于巴黎的法国外交部总部大楼（Quai d'Orsay），第三届 Pall Mall 进程会议在巴黎举行。照片：David Monniaux 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters at Quai d'Orsay, Paris, where the 3rd Pall Mall Process Conference was held. Photo by David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
