Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
|
Burkina Faso President announced as new Chairman of IMPACT Advisory
Board
Global cybersecurity efforts further reinforced
through ITU-IMPACT’s growing network
of early warning and international
cyber response facilities
Geneva, 25 October 2011 – Blaise Compaoré, President of
Burkina Faso, has been appointed Chairman of the International Advisory Board
(IAB) of the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats
(IMPACT), which serves at the executing arm of the ITU in the area of cyber
security.
Mr Compaoré takes over from former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi, who served as founding Chairman of the IAB. The handover ceremony
was held today at the ITU Telecom World 2011 event in Geneva, in conjunction
with the second IAB meeting.
Malaysia's tenure of the IAB chairmanship (2008-2011) coincided with period
of rapid growth for IMPACT. Today, with 137 Member States formally part of the
ITU-IMPACT coalition and with strong support from global industry leaders and
partners from academia, ITU-IMPACT has become the largest cybersecurity alliance
of its kind in the world.
As Chairman, President Compaoré will guide the activities and direction of
the IMPACT IAB. He brings a vast experience in telecommunications and
international relations, and will continue to spearhead global efforts to bring
governments, industry, academia and international organizations together in the
fight against cyber threats.
IAB members currently include:
- Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU Secretary-General
- Steve Chang, Founder & Chairman, Trend Micro
- Ayman Hariri, Chairman, Oger Systems
- Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer, F-Secure
- Eugene Kaspersky, Founder and CEO, Kaspersky Lab
- Professor Fred Piper, Cryptologist, founder of the Information Security
Group at Royal Holloway, University of London
- John W. Thompson, Chairman of the Board, Symantec Corporation
“I am delighted to welcome President Compaoré, an
active and high-profile advocate of a more global approach to cybersecurity,
into the ITU-IMPACT fold. Cybersecurity knows no borders; it is only with a
truly coordinated international approach that we will win against the growing
tide of malicious hackers and cybercriminals,” said ITU Secretary-General Dr
Hamadoun Touré.
An MoU signed by ITU and IMPACT in May 2011 sees IMPACT provide cybersecurity
support and services to ITU Member States and other organizations within the UN
system. ITU-IMPACT is the first cooperative global venture of its kind offering
cybersecurity expertise and resources to governments and organizations to
detect, analyze and respond effectively to cyberthreats. Of particular benefit
to developing countries and smaller states without the capacity and resources to
develop their own sophisticated cyber response centres, the coalition also
benefits technically advanced nations by providing them with a global snapshot
of potential and real online threats.
ITU-IMPACT members enjoy:
- Access to the IMPACT Global Response Centre (GRC), the
foremost cyberthreat resource centre in the world for global
threat information, at no cost.
- Access to the Electronically Secure Collaboration
Application Platform for Experts (ESCAPE), allowing experts
across different countries to share their knowledge and best
practices with regard to cybersecurity, as well as facilitate
the mitigation of cyberattacks, at no cost.
- On-site assessments and elaboration of implementation
strategies for the establishment of the Computer Incidents
Response Teams (CIRTs). To date 30 countries have been assessed,
and work is in progress to move to the implementation phase.
- Specialized cybersecurity capacity building programmes to
arm Member States and international agencies with relevant
knowledge to face and prevent cyberthreats. To date, more than
200 cybersecurity professionals and 50 law enforcement officers
have received specialist training. In addition, 155 training
scholarships to 29 partner countries globally have been
provided.
Key ITU-IMPACT partners include Microsoft,
Kaspersky Lab, Symantec, Trend Micro, SANS Institute, (ISC)2, APWG and
EC-Council.
In recognition of the Malaysian government’s assistance in supporting
ITU-IMPACT's work in strengthening global cybersecurity, Malaysian Prime
Minister Dato' Sri Najib Tun Razak was honoured as one of ITU’s 2010 World
Telecommunication and Information Society Laureates.
Follow other ITU Telecom World 2011 news and event activities on Facebook at
www.itu.int/facebook and through the @ITU_News
twitter account #ITUworld11.
Live and archived webcasts of selected ITU Telecom World 2011 sessions will
be available at: http://world2011.itu.int/
For more information, please contact:
At ITU
Marco Obiso,
ITU Cybersecurity Coordinator, ITU
|
Sarah Parkes
Chief, Media Relations & Public Information, ITU
|
At IMPACT
Kala Pakiri,
Manager, Corporate Communications
|
About IMPACT
The International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) is
the cybersecurity executing arm of the United Nations' specialized agency for
ICTs, the International Telecommunication Union . As the world’s first
UN-backed comprehensive alliance against cyber threats, IMPACT brings together
governments, academia and industry experts to enhance the global community’s
capabilities in dealing with cyber threats. Based in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, IMPACT
is the operational home of ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA). IMPACT
provides ITU’s 193 Member States with access to expertise, facilities and
resources to effectively address cyber threats, as well as assisting United
Nations agencies in protecting their ICT infrastructures.
www.impact-alliance.org
About ITU...