Opening Remarks 7 October 2008
ITU Regional Cybersecurity Forum for Europe and
the Commonwealth of Independent States1
Sofia, Bulgaria
7−9 October 2008
Plamen Vatchkov, Chairman
State Agency for Information Technology and Communications, Bulgaria
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Colleagues,
Once again welcome to the ITU Regional Cybersecurity Forum for Europe
and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Hosting the current Forum by the State Agency for Information Technology
and Communications is an expression of the will of the Republic of Bulgaria to
follow steadfastly the road of information and communications technology
development. At the same time it is a recognition on the part of ITU for the
contribution of the Bulgarian Administration to the ITU activities as a whole.
I have talked many times about the successes we have achieved in that
field, so I will not do it now. This time, however, I would like to stress that hosting
the current Forum is also an expression of the commitment of the State Agency
1
See the ITU Regional Cybersecurity Forum for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS) website at www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/events/2008/sofia/
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for Information Technology and Communications to apply more efforts in the
field of network and information security. I will just cast a short glance at the
Agency’s activity in that direction.
As of November 2006, Bulgaria became involved in the activities of the
European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA). As a result of
active cooperation with ENISA and the Hungarian CERT, the establishment of a
Governmental CERT in Bulgaria is underway and we hope it will start operating
by the end of the year. SAITS is also taking measures to consolidate its
institutional capacity in terms of information security.
We also hope that the Computer Emergency Response Team will
contribute considerably in the fight against cyber crime. Presently, with the kind
assistance of the ITU BDT, SAITS is conducting a campaign of self-assessment
of the national cyber security. Based of the results of this self-assessment, a
national strategy on cyber security will be developed.
In short, in terms of security of communication and information systems in
Bulgaria we have serious achievements behind our backs, but we also have
some challenges ahead of us. I believe that this Forum will greatly contribute to
the successful solution of these tasks.
So, the emphasis now is not on ICTs as a whole, but on cybersecurity – an
element of ICT that we have recently been increasingly aware of. Why do we
have to deal with cybersecurity? Because most of us spend a lot of time online.
And since this online virtual world is a reflection of the real world, just like
criminals are an inevitable part of our social structure, not surprisingly, they also
have populated the virtual world and they are committing cyber crimes.
However, while, initially, the results of cyber crimes were felt within the virtual
world, now the victims of cyber crimes are in the real world and they suffer
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heavy financial losses or lose credibility. And the logic is simple – since there
are cyber crimes, fighting them calls for cybersecurity. And that is the reason we
are here today – to find the ways and means to raise the level of cybersecurity.
But cybersecurity has many aspects. And looking at the Forum Agenda, we see
that all of them will receive considerable attention in the relevant sessions.
First, we will look at the different approaches to the establishment of
institutional frameworks of cybersecurity and critical information infrastructure
protection. Then, we will elaborate on the issue of cybersecurity culture –
awareness of all stakeholders of the existing threats and the role of the
governments in raising that awareness.
Bearing in mind that most of the ICT networks are private, success in
cybersecurity can be ensured only by bringing together the industry and the
governments in order to discuss common cybersecurity challenges. In that
sense, the role and benefits of public-private partnerships will be elucidated.
Legislation and law enforcement at national and international level are
important elements in preventing, detecting and responding to cybercrimes and
they will get their due attention at the Forum.
Since we assume that that cyber incidents will be part of our lives, much
attention is devoted to the components of efficient incident management –
funding, human resources, training, technical capabilities, government-industry
relations, legal framework, collaboration at all levels, etc.
Bearing in mind that cybersecurity is a process, and not just a one-off effort,
then the importance of a national strategy, addressing technical, legal, financial
and political issues becomes obvious, so a session is dedicated to the
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approaches, best practices and key building blocks for the establishment of
national strategies on cybersecurity and CIIP.
There is also a session dedicated to cybersecurity solely in terms of law
enforcement.
A financial perspective on cybersecurity links the efficiency of system
protection with the possible obligations of individuals and companies to bear the
costs of cyber incidents.
And finally, bearing in mind that the consequences of cyber crimes are
global and far reaching, only a cybersecurity based on broad national and
international cooperation can be successful.
In other words, we have quite an ambitious agenda of the ITU Regional
Cybersecurity Forum for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
And while these ambitions exclude full abolishment of cybercrime, we at least
hope that we, joining our efforts, could make the Internet more or less safer, and
this is a goal worth striving for.
I sincerely hope that during your stay here you will also find time to get to
know more of our ancient capital city Sofia.
I wish you every success with this Regional Cybersecurity Forum and thank
you for your attention.
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