ITU, IMPACT Collaborate to Fight Cyber Attacks

International Telecommunication Union and the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT), together with Turkey’s Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA), have collaborated with the aim of strengthening international cybersecurity preparedness.

The International Cyber Shield Exercise (ICSE) aims to bring together national Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) practitioners, senior government officials, cybersecurity experts, industry players and other stakeholder groups from ICT across the world under one roof.

ICSE 2014 primarily provided a platform for information sharing on key aspects pertaining to cybersecurity with particular emphasis on effective incident handling and international cooperation among the various stakeholders.

The event saw presentations from distinguished cybersecurity experts as well as workshops on Forensic Science and Investigation, Mobile Security and Standardization in Cybersecurity, and Child Online Protection (COP). Participating national CIRTs engaged in a series of real-life cyber threat simulations to assess their incident handling capability.

“We are living in a hyperconnected world where we remain as strong as our weakest link,” said Hamadoun I. Touré, ITU secretary-general. “We will continue to work towards building a global movement for global cybersecurity. In order to meet this goal, we need the right tools and measures not only to protect ourselves but also to test the effectiveness of our cybersecurity armour.” 

“The cyber drill in Turkey provided a specialized platform for technical experts from CIRTs to acquire more know-how and to test the capabilities attributed to their CIRTs through simulation-of-attack scenarios,” said Brahima Sanou, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.

“Attack simulations aim to assist countries in developing and implementing operational procedures in response to various cyber incidents, and to identify future planning and process improvements.”

“Bringing together national CIRTs, key cybersecurity stakeholders and industry experts at the same venue allows countries to grasp the importance of public-private partnership as an integral part of the international network in the fight against cyber threats,” said Datuk Mohd Noor Amin, Chairman of IMPACT.