The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day event was celebrated under the hosting of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority.
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, celebrated under the leadership of the International Telecommunication Union—the sole global standardization body—was organized this year with the theme "Bridging the Standardization Gap."
Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, who spoke at the opening of the program, stated that it particularly focuses on the standardization theme for developing countries and aims to encourage them to play a more active role in the Union's standard-setting activities.
Deputy Minister Sayan: WhatsApp Security Vulnerability is an Indicator that Our Privacy is Being Trampled Underfoot
Sayan, who noted that standardization work began in 2016 according to the ITU's 5G roadmap and is expected to be completed in 2020, stated that countries participating in 5G technology efforts are making intense efforts to have their own standards accepted as global standards, and that BTK supports all domestic stakeholders to ensure Turkey's standards are accepted.
Sayan said, "The ITU needs to set standards in this regard. For example, news about the security vulnerability in WhatsApp has appeared in national and international media in recent days. According to these reports, we learned that a software company exploited the WhatsApp security flaw to infiltrate people's mobile devices and access all their data. Where is my data? What data did you access through this? We will continue to raise our voice here and ask these questions. We are making all our applications regarding this. We have also requested information from WhatsApp officials at this point."
Reiterating that they are demanding information and explanations from WhatsApp officials regarding such security vulnerabilities that could harm public institutions and organizations as well as citizens, Sayan stated, "This is literally an indicator of how people's privacy is being trampled underfoot by global companies."
Emphasizing the importance of increasing the use of domestic messaging applications, Sayan strongly underlined that it has become mandatory for citizens, especially public institutions and organizations, to prefer domestic and national communication applications instead of foreign-sourced ones whose security vulnerabilities have now been confirmed.
Chairman Karagözoğlu: We Are Experiencing the Rightful Pride of Sending 5G's First Signals
Information Technologies and Communication Authority President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu also
expressed in his speech that organizing the program is important in terms of drawing attention to the unfair distribution of digital opportunities worldwide.
Stating that important work is being conducted under the ITU umbrella—of which Turkey is also an active founding member—to overcome this disparity between countries, Karagözoğlu said these efforts represent an opportunity for countries' transformation into information societies.
Karagözoğlu, who noted that the first signals of 5G were given in Turkey alongside the world, said, "We are experiencing the rightful pride and joy of this."
Touching on BTK's efforts, Karagözoğlu added that as an institution, they are working to transition to 5G using the highest possible domestic and national capabilities, and for this purpose, they have imposed criteria on operators such as using 45% domestic and national resources.