The Financial Sector Cyber Shield 2022 Exercise was held under the auspices of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority. This time, employees from the financial sector will break a sweat in the exercise.
A new addition to last week's Cyber Shield Exercise was organized. This time, financial sector employees will engage in cybersecurity efforts with scenarios prepared specifically for them over two days. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu, who attended the program's opening via video conference, emphasized that cybersecurity is one of the most fundamental needs.
Speaking about the dedication in the efforts to ensure cybersecurity, Karaismailoğlu said, “In line with the vision and goals set forth by our esteemed President; we are continuously increasing our knowledge, experience, and capacity accumulation with all our determination and resolve, conducting our activities sustainably to elevate our gains in the field of cybersecurity to higher levels.”
Stating that the country has achieved many gains in the field of cybersecurity through coordinated and long-term efforts, Karaismailoğlu said, “Cybersecurity exercises are of great importance in practically testing our gains and capacities, our preparedness levels for cyber incidents, and our cooperation capabilities among stakeholders. We place special emphasis on this issue, and with the 6 national and 2 international cybersecurity exercises we have conducted under the coordination of our Ministry since 2011, we have once again underscored this importance. In the upcoming period, without slowing down, we plan to bring together public institutions and private companies operating in critical infrastructure sectors such as energy and electronic communications for the same purpose.”
BTK President Karagözoğlu: Cyber Attacks Targeting the Financial Sector Cause Greater Damage
The President of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority also touched upon the great importance of these exercises in terms of cybersecurity. Noting that while absolute security cannot be ensured in the cyber world, taking necessary measures for cybersecurity and increasing preparedness against potential threats is of great importance, Karagözoğlu said, “As BTK, we view cybersecurity as part of our national security. In our National Cyber Incident Response Center, which began operations in 2013 under our institution, we protect our cyber homeland with effective efforts carried out 7/24 in collaboration and contribution from your esteemed SOME teams. We take pride in the fact that our SOME teams nationwide have reached 2,103, and the number of cybersecurity experts working in our SOME teams has reached 6,439.”
Emphasizing that they will become even stronger in this field with the support of stakeholders, Karagözoğlu said, “The banking and finance sector is at the forefront of our pioneering sectors in digitalization. Today, we can perform many transactions in minutes, even seconds, make payments automatically through banking applications, and direct our investments. With the development of technology, our mobile phones have become wallets. We can open bank accounts anytime, anywhere, access our accounts, and easily carry out banking transactions. Considering the sector's size and transaction volume, the banking and finance sector becomes even more critical in terms of cybersecurity,” highlighting the importance of cybersecurity for banking.
Reminding that cyber attacks targeting the financial sector could cause greater damage, Karagözoğlu concluded his speech by saying, “I am pleased to see the participation of 133 experts from 40 institutions and organizations in the Financial Sector Cyber Shield Exercise, which we have gathered today to conduct for the purpose of raising cybersecurity awareness in this critical sector. I extend my thanks to all participating SOME teams.”
Following the speeches, the two-day exercise began. Participants will sweat to combat cyber threat and attack scenarios prepared for them. Winners will be determined at the end of the two days.