BDT Director Doreen Bogdan-Martin addressed policymakers and other stakeholders in an ITU organized webinar on National Cybersecurity Strategies- Implementation and Monitoring.
We continue to see significant benefits in the digitization of governmental services and products, and citizens' positive experience in the adoption of the innovative technologies and services. However, together with digitalization, cybersecurity risks are growing and there has been a significant increase in costs over the past decade due to cybersecurity incidents.
In this webinar, cybersecurity experts with different backgrounds and from different sectors shared their experiences and knowledge on the importance of national cybersecurity strategy related actions to build greater cybersecurity resilience and readiness. They also elaborated on approaches and opportunities for better collaboration amongst national and international stakeholders.
Ms Bogdan-Martin emphasized that ''digital security in the context of digital transformation, is at the heart of the opportunities and challenges of future digital development.'' Especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we find ourselves at a critical point to try to leverage the transformational power of ICTs and the Internet to act as catalysts for economic growth and social development. At the same time, rapidly evolving cyber-risks threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of ICT infrastructure.
She underlined the importance of comprehensive National Cybersecurity Strategies. To reap the benefits and manage the challenges of digitalization, countries need to frame the proliferation of ICT-enabled infrastructure within a comprehensive National Cybersecurity Strategy. Such strategies seek to respond to cyber risks by coordinating actions for prevention, preparation, response, and incident recovery between government authorities and other national stakeholders. National Cybersecurity Strategies also facilitate the development and deployment of digital technologies securely to narrow the digital divide in developing countries.
For this reason, ITU engages in cybersecurity projects, activities, and regular interactions in many countries to raise awareness and skill development. To improve readiness and incident response capabilities of developing countries, ITU conducts annual CyberDrill exercises and technical trainings. Recently, ITU also launched strengthened Child Online Protection (COP) guidelines, to create a safe and empowering online experience for children.
Ms Bogdan-Martin encouraged advancing real, implementable solutions and partnership models, by collaborating ''to ensure that the online world is safe for current and future users."
