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OAS Makes Public Recommendations on Cyber Security for Colombia

The Mission of Technical Assistance on Cybernetic Security sent by the Organization of American States (OAS) to Colombia in response to a request by President Juan Manuel Santos, today published the recommendations that resulted from the visit to the country between March 31 and April 4, after having delivered them to the Colombian government.

The document, available here, contains a series of suggestions put to the consideration of the government of Colombia dealing with four areas in which the Colombian state should concentrate its efforts on the issue: strengthening institutional capacities on cyber security and cyber defense; improving legal frameworks on cyber security; and international cooperation and cooperation with multiple interested parties.

The mission was sent in response to a request from the President of Colombia, and was carried out through the Cyber Security Program of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE), which is part of the Secretariat for Multidimensional Security of the OAS. The group was composed of 18 recognized experts from different international organizations and countries. The objective was the production of a series of recommendations to provide the government with a solid technical-professional basis for their eventual implementation.

The Commission of international experts and OAS representatives received information from the representatives of the various institutions of the Colombian government with responsibilities in the areas of cyber security and cyber crimes, from the judicial authorities and civil society, as well as private sector representatives. For its part, the Government of Colombia granted broad access to the international experts to visit installations where Colombia’s cyber space is protected. Upon its conclusion, the mission formally delivered its recommendations to the Ministers of Defense, Juan Carlos Pinzón; Information and Communication Technologies, Diego Molano Vega; and Justice and Law, Alfonso Gómez Méndez.

The Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, said “the General Secretariat of the OAS is pleased by the initiative of the Colombian government to convene this mission of technical assistance, and even more, the make these recommendations public, which will allow for the proper evaluation and follow-up, in coordination with and in support of the praiseworthy efforts of the Government of Colombia.” The OAS leader thanked the experts who took part in the mission, and reaffirmed that “this initiative, which was held in Colombia, could serve as a model for other countries in the region to evaluate their capabilities in cyber security, an area which doubtless is indispensable for the development of our nations.”

Along similar lines, Juan Carlos Pinzón, Minister of Defense of Colombia, said “the Colombian government has considered the recommendations of this Technical Assistance Mission at the highest levels,” and added that “the President of Colombia has asked for speedy results on the basis of these recommendations.” Based on this, Minister Pinzón called for the construction, as soon as possible for a roadmap by the Colombian government for the implementation of the recommendations that came out of this technical assistance by the OAS.

The international experts who participated in the mission are officials from the governments of Canada, Spain, United States, the United Kingdom, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Israel, South Korea, and Uruguay. Similarly, in addition to OAS officials, the International Commission included the participation of representatives of the Council of Europe, the World Economic Forum, INTERPOL, the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Oxford University. The recommendations of the experts were edited in private meetings, with the objective of guaranteeing a balanced and impartial analysis of the needs and steps to follow that should be considered by the Colombian government.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-196/14