At the Summit on the Development of the Cybersecurity Ecosystem organized by the Informatics Association, cybersecurity, ecosystem, and new satellite technologies were discussed.
The Summit on the Development of the Cybersecurity Ecosystem was hosted by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority. The program was attended by Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure; Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Technology; Mustafa Murat Şeker, Deputy President of the Presidency of Defense Industries; Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the BTK; Rahmi Aktepe, President of the Informatics Association; Ahmet Hamdi Atalay, General Manager of Aselsan and President of the Information Security Association; and numerous sector representatives.
Deputy Minister Sayan: As a Nation, We Are Accustomed to the Peace Brought by the Just Pride of Achieving the Difficult
Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, who participated in the opening of the summit via video conference, spoke about the importance of establishing a cybersecurity ecosystem. Sayan stated, "As you appreciate, technology is a tool that is extremely difficult to keep up with in terms of speed. But as a nation, we love the difficult. We are accustomed to the peace given by the just pride of achieving the difficult. As you know, the greatest feature of the ecosystem concept is its ability to continuously transform into a new form. The informatics ecosystem is also constantly developing as a result of the addition of new products and services, innovative elements, and the interaction of these elements with different structures within the ecosystem. This has first caused changes in the business world. The automation of old professions and processes has led to the emergence of new industries and new professions in the economy."
Expressing that the Internet of Things can be considered one of the greatest revolutions in modern life, Sayan said, "The Internet of Things offers a technology that can fundamentally change life. The presence of the IoT concept in almost every field today has brought some environmental factors with it. The concept of Green IoT has emerged to contribute to the ecosystem. IoT is a technology that connects everything in the smart world. It has the potential to make significant contributions to both business life and social life. Green IoT comes into play at the point where the energy consumption levels of the Internet of Things and its effects on the environment, climate change, and human health progress in a negative direction. I would like to emphasize that the National Technology Move, which continues under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regarding domestic and national production efforts in recent years, is a roadmap that brings our country closer to its goals. I say this openly from here: the move initiated by our President is the work of a vision that will place this country in a leading position both in the region and in the world. We are not predicting or following the future; we are building the future and we will continue to do so."
Deputy Minister Sayan: We Must Sign Technologies That Will Guide the Whole World
Deputy Minister Sayan concluded his remarks by saying, "We see that data-oriented cyber attacks, seen as the gold of our age, continue to increase. Therefore, taking technological and legal measures to protect our data from attacks is not just a preference but a necessity. We view cybersecurity as part of our national security and continue to take steps with this awareness. In this context, our efforts to ensure national cybersecurity are being carried out by the National Cyber Incident Response Center under the BTK. In short, as a country in this world, we must first be the captain of our own ship, and then sign studies that will guide the whole world and shape technology. While achieving this, we will of course have our fellow travelers who enable us to reach the goal. And together, we will form the ecosystem."
Deputy Minister Kacır: Realizing Our National Technology Move is Inevitable
Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, also spoke at the program. Kacır stated, "It is very important to increase the localization rates of products used in the field of cybersecurity in our country, especially in the armed forces, public and private sector institutions. Increasing the localization rates of cybersecurity solutions used in our country, which currently have a 5-10% localization rate, to over 50% in the next 5 years is among our primary targets."
Deputy Minister Kacır said that with technological developments, the risk of attacks increases as many operations are carried out in the virtual environment. Expressing that the integration of information and communication technologies in Turkey is done rapidly, Kacır said, "In our country, where 8 out of every 10 households have internet access, potential cyber attacks can have comprehensive and serious effects. The connection of billions of objects from production systems to automobiles to the internet is making cybersecurity more critical in our lives day by day."
Deputy Minister Kacır: A New Phase Has Entered in the Global Economy and Competition
Reminding that cyber attacks are not only fast but also do not require expensive and complex weapon systems, Kacır said that all parties need to act in solidarity to ensure security in cyberspace, where great effects can be created with a small attack. Drawing attention to the fact that a new phase has been entered in the global economy and competition, Kacır continued: "In the upcoming period, global competition will be shaped around concepts such as digital transformation, big data and data analytics, and cybersecurity. Countries' economic superiorities and independences will be redefined according to these parameters. Future wars will not be fought with conventional weapons but with cyber weapons, and the destruction of cyber attacks will be heavier. Countries that capture this paradigm shift that will provide all these effects will gain superiority in the future and become the main actors who set the rules of the game. For our country to maintain its independence in every field, it is inevitable that we realize our 'national technology move'."
Kacır also touched upon ongoing cybersecurity studies with TÜBİTAK, the Defense Industry Presidency (SSB), and other stakeholders, stating that studies to establish the "Cybersecurity Academy" with SSB are ongoing and that the academy is planned to be operational in the fall. Noting that efforts are continuing to rapidly spread "Deneyap Technology Workshops" to 81 provinces for growing the needed human resources from the core and directing students to this field at early ages, Kacır evaluated, "It is very important to increase the localization rates of products used in the field of cybersecurity in our country, especially in the armed forces, public and private sector institutions. Increasing the localization rates of cybersecurity solutions used in our country, which currently have a 5-10% localization rate, to over 50% in the next 5 years is among our primary targets."
President Karagözoğlu: Cybersecurity is a Part of National Security
Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the BTK, who made the opening speech, said, “Digital transformation has begun to deeply affect the daily lives of both states and all of us from 7 to 70 in every field, from national security to economy, from environment to urbanism worldwide. Of course, digital technologies centered around computer hardware, software, mobile devices, and communication networks are not newly emerging technologies. Dizziness developments are experienced in many fields from gene sequencing to nano-technologies, from renewable energy to quantum information processing. The convergence of these technologies and their interaction in physical, digital, and biological fields heralds great developments on a scale we have not witnessed before. The information and communication technologies sector, which is at the center of technological developments, has become not only a sector on its own but also the main actor in the development and growth of other sectors, making it the most important sector of the digital transformation age.”
Expressing that the more we use technology, the more dependent we become on it, Karagözoğlu said, “We are also becoming more vulnerable to the risks it brings. Individuals, companies, critical infrastructures, and states are under serious cyber threats. Ensuring cybersecurity is no longer just a need to eliminate dangers in areas where technology is intensively used. Due to connected risks in social and economic life, cybersecurity has become a part of National Security and a major factor affecting the welfare of nations. Therefore, while we need to think about how new technologies will make our lives easier and how to make these technologies more accessible, we also need to think about how to ensure the security of these new technologies and take steps accordingly.”
President Karagözoğlu: USOM is Important in Training Expert Personnel
Emphasizing that the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, on one hand, fulfills its regulatory duties towards the electronic communications sector in our country and, on the other hand, continues its activities to ensure national cybersecurity as per its assigned duties and responsibilities, Karagözoğlu stated, "As you know, our national cybersecurity organization began to take shape in a hierarchy of USOM - sectoral SOME and institutional SOMEs with the establishment of USOM in May 2013 and the formation of cyber incident response teams. Today, 14 sectoral SOMEs and over 1000 institutional SOMEs continue their activities in coordination with USOM. In this framework, we are endeavoring to advance the previously conducted studies by allocating more resources to USOM. USOM conducts alarm, warning, and announcement activities to prevent cyber threats, takes control of incidents with on-site intervention teams in critical situations, and ensures national coordination in cyber incident response. USOM, equipped with malicious software analysis and digital analysis capabilities, has achieved significant gains in the employment and training of expert personnel in this field. Activities such as incident response, digital log examination, and penetration testing carried out by USOM personnel in many of our critical institutions have gained momentum.” He concluded his speech with these words.
Following the opening speeches, a plaque presentation ceremony was held. The program continued throughout the day with panels on cybersecurity.