The 13th International Information Security and Cryptology Conference was held this year online, using a domestic and national conference application.
The opening of the program was attended by Ali Taha Koç, Head of the Digital Transformation Office, Adil Karaismailoğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, and Ahmet Hamdi Atalay, Chairman of the Board of the Information Security Association.
Speaking at the opening of the program, Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, President of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority, began his remarks by addressing December 3, World Disability Day. Noting that they have introduced facilitations for disabled citizens in accessing services through the arrangements they have made, Karagözoğlu stated, “With the regulation we have implemented, we have ensured that disabled individuals, as well as the widows and orphans of war and duty martyrs and veterans, can benefit from electronic communication services with an additional 25% discount. For hearing and speech-impaired subscribers to carry out procedures related to electronic communication services, we have provided the opportunity to benefit from call centers through a sign language interpreter and also to receive call center services in writing. We have ensured that they receive priority service in call center calls. We have also imposed an obligation on operators to publish on their websites the locations, contact information, and details of which accessibility features they possess regarding stores with accessibility features. Additionally, we have mandated that operators' websites be accessible in accordance with international standards. In smartphone applications, we have imposed obligations on operators to particularly consider the needs of disabled individuals and to prioritize software and designs developed and used by disabled designers. In every step we take toward becoming a digital society, we continue our efforts without slowing down, with the support of our operators and relevant stakeholders, to ensure that our disabled brothers and sisters are by our side,” he said.
President Karagözoğlu: Data is the Building Block of Digital Transformation
Drawing attention to the benefits provided by developing information and communication technologies, Karagözoğlu said, “Today, ‘data’ forms the building block of digital transformation. The amount of data processed daily in the virtual environment is now measured in exabytes. This unit is a billion times larger than the gigabyte we are accustomed to. Digital transformation does not only transform sectors related to the economy. Developments in industry are also changing societal structures. We are now discussing the changes brought by Society 5.0, a ‘super smart society’ where the cyber domain and the physical domain are highly integrated. The ability of everything to connect to the internet, become smart, and make our lives easier is accelerating digital transformation. We are increasingly seeing the effects of digital transformation in public services as well.”
Stating that our country's infrastructure is strengthening day by day, Karagözoğlu said, “Digital transformation, of course, depends on the existence of strong infrastructures and the accessibility of services provided over these infrastructures by citizens. With its strong communication infrastructure, our country has made significant progress in digital transformation. As of today, fiber infrastructure length has exceeded 413 thousand km, while the total broadband internet subscriber count has reached approximately 81 million. Of the broadband internet subscribers, 65 million are on mobile and 16 million on fixed broadband services. In the last 3-month period, the approximately 9 million Tbyte total traffic generated was used 7.1 million by fixed and 1.8 million by mobile subscribers, showing more than 50% increase compared to one year ago. While our mobile subscriber count approaches 83 million, with the influence of provisions added to authorization conditions to ensure these services and infrastructures are provided nationwide above a certain quality, 4.5G service has rapidly expanded, and 92% of subscribers have become 4.5G subscribers.” He also shared this information.
President Karagözoğlu: We Combat the Risks of Information and Communication Technologies with USOM
Stating that these successes were greatly influenced by the “National Technology Move” initiated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Karagözoğlu pointed out that the best example of this is in 5G-related areas. Reminding that while information and communication technologies make our lives easier on one hand, they also bring risks, Karagözoğlu emphasized that they combat these risks thanks to USOM. Karagözoğlu said, “We continue to accelerate our studies at USOM and put concrete measures into effect by allocating even more resources. With ongoing efforts, we aim to warn critical institutions and organizations in our country against threats and vulnerabilities and to ensure necessary measures are taken by relevant parties. We ensure our cybersecurity with a large team. Cyber Incident Response Teams (SOME), positioned at the forefront of their 7/24 duties in coordination with USOM for the protection of institutions and critical infrastructure sectors, are key. At the technical level, our cybersecurity structure, shaped as USOM, Sectoral SOMEs, and Institutional SOMEs, is protected by more than 4,000 cybersecurity experts registered on the SOME Communication Platform, safeguarding our country's cyber domain.”
President Karagözoğlu also mentioned the “1 Million Programmers” project. Emphasizing that this project will close the gap in trained human resources, he concluded his speech by underscoring their efforts to enable completely domestic and national production.