At the 3rd e-Safe Cybersecurity Summit held this year, topics such as cyber terrorism and hybrid warfare were discussed.
The program, organized under the slogan “Make It Safer,” meaning “Make It Safer,” was attended by Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority, and numerous guests.
In his opening speech at the program, Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of UAB, emphasized that technology possesses great power. Noting that the development of technology has spread information systems to every area of our lives, Sayan stated, “The fact that our lives are so intertwined with information technologies puts our personal information at equal risk. This situation has introduced entirely new risks and concepts into our lives. Have you noticed how frequently expressions like cybersecurity, cyber world, and cyberspace have been mentioned lately? Have you ever wondered why we hear these concepts so often? All of this is proof of the changing world order. Today, the cyber world and cyberspace have become our greatest reality, and cyber attacks have turned into the areas where we must be strongest” thereby drawing attention to the importance of the cyber world.
Deputy Minister Sayan: There Is No Other Way Than to Absolutely Ensure Cybersecurity
Sayan continued, “Identifying who finances and organizes unexpected and unstoppable persistent cyber attacks aimed at undermining information systems and data presents another problem. This reveals the asymmetric nature of risks and threats in cyberspace while making the fight against threats more difficult. In such an environment, there is no other way than to absolutely ensure cybersecurity. Our greatest goal is to keep cybersecurity risks at manageable and controllable levels.”
Emphasizing the need to be prepared against cyber incidents, Sayan also provided information on the history of cyber attacks. Expressing that not only is it difficult to identify the perpetrators of cyber attacks, but sometimes two states are involved in the attack, Sayan said, “All these attacks became a turning point for concepts like cybersecurity and cyber warfare worldwide.
The United States published the “National Cybersecurity Policy,” emphasizing the importance of joint action by the state, private sector, and citizens on cybersecurity. For NATO member countries, the “International Cyber Defense Policy” was prepared to take measures against cyber attacks. The European Union also joined this fight by establishing the “European Network,” the “Information Security Agency,” and the “European Police Office.” In our country, studies were conducted to develop a cybersecurity strategy in collaboration with the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, BTK, and NGOs to combat cybercrime. These efforts were accelerated by our affiliate BTK starting from 2005. Particularly from 2008 onwards, the issue of how large cyber threats can become entered the agenda of international organizations such as the European Union, OECD, and NATO, as well as all developed countries. The 2016-2019 National Cybersecurity Strategy and Action Plan was also an important step for our country,” he shared.
Deputy Minister Sayan: Countries Are Charting Their Own Paths in Ensuring Cybersecurity
Speaking about how countries ensure their cybersecurity, Sayan said, “All countries are charting their own paths in terms of cyber defense. This is exactly when we realize how important domestic and national production is. As a country, we are fighting cyber threats 24/7 with domestically and nationally developed software such as AVCI, AZAD, and KASIRGA. While world countries talk about technologies like Industry 4.0 and Society 5.0 to gain an edge in the technology race, we have joined this race with the ‘National Technology Move’ roadmap drawn by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to achieve the 2023 targets. Remember that humanity tends to place only the problems it can solve in front of itself. By overcoming this tendency and following the 2023 targets set by our President, we will enter the ranks of countries that do not just follow developments but lead them, thus rising to the position of a leading country in this race. To achieve this, we must first believe. Never forget how much our thoughts guide our lives. A person can only rise by elevating their thoughts and goals. Otherwise, someone who does not believe in progress is doomed to stay stuck in place.”
Minister Sayan invited all stakeholders related to cybersecurity to act together.
BTK President Karagözoğlu: We Should Look at Ensuring Information Security More Systematically
At the summit, BTK President Karagözoğlu also spoke. Underscoring that cybersecurity is of vital importance to institutions, Karagözoğlu said, “Especially the increasing security risks to data storage environments and the targeting of information technologies used for information management make it imperative to look at ensuring information security in a broader framework and more systematically today. Cyber attackers can install viruses or malicious software on individuals' and institutions' computers, and through these software, gain access to remote systems. This makes it much easier for them to cause physical damage to systems and seize personal information. When this information is of vital importance to us, things become even more complicated. As the Information and Communication Technologies Authority, on one hand, we fulfill our regulatory duties towards the electronic communications sector in our country, and on the other hand, we continue our activities to ensure national cybersecurity as per our duties and responsibilities.”
President Karagözoğlu shared the following information about USOM: “As you know, the national cybersecurity organization in our country began to take shape within the hierarchy of USOM - Sectoral SOME - 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 are conducting their work 24/7 in coordination with USOM.”
Drawing attention to the fact that cybersecurity concerns the entire country, Karagözoğlu concluded his speech by saying, “Creating an ecosystem related to cybersecurity, closely following processes by all stakeholders, and discussing this issue with all its social dimensions will be the unifying mortar for the wall we are trying to build to protect ourselves in the cyber world. Additionally, policies, strategies, and action plans for developing domestic technologies and widespread use in critical infrastructures will create awareness in all segments of society.”