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In 2002, COM/CITEL recognized the importance of
“building a culture of cyber security to protect telecommunication
infrastructures by raising awareness among all participants in the
Americas in information systems and networks concerning the risk to
those systems and by developing necessary measures to address security
risks to respond quickly to cyber incidents.”
To increase security of the networks and
information systems, CITEL began working with the Inter-American
Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) and the Group of Governmental
Experts on Cyber-Crime of the Meeting of Ministers of Justice or of
Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA).
Several joint events were held in this framework
to review the current situation, among which we should mention the OAS
Cybersecurity Conference (Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 28-29, 2003)
and the Joint Workshop of the International Telecommunications Union
on Cybersecurity (Quito, Ecuador, March 16-19, 2004). At these
conferences/workshops experts and senior officials had the opportunity
to review issues such as international standards for greater
protection of the infrastructure of critical networks, analyzing in
depth existing regional initiatives.
The discussion revealed that CITEL could play an
important role in building awareness of these topics of potential
impact in the region, so a work plan was developed to identify best
regional practices, and to prepare a hemispheric level cybersecurity
strategy.
The thirty-fourth regular session of the General
Assembly of the Organization of American States adopted a
Comprehensive Inter-American Strategy to Combat Threats to
Cybersecurity: A Multidimensional and Multidisciplinary Approach to
Creating a Culture of Cybersecurity.
The region recognizes that secure and efficient
operation of the global telecommunications infrastructure is
indispensable for the well-being and development of all sectors of the
economy, and therefore of vital interest to both governments and the
private sector, so the member states are urged to implement this
strategy.
Clovis Baptista
Executive Secretary
CITEL
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Additional Information: The
Working Group on Advanced Network Technologies and
Services has among its mandates "to
study the security aspects related to telecommunication network
development and harmonization of the regulations implemented in
the Americas Region on this matter."
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