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OAS Cyber Security Symposium held in Costa Rica

The Organization of American States (OAS), the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Telecommunications (MICIT) and the Network Information Center (NIC) of Costa Rica, held from September 30th to October 4th in San Jose a “Regional Symposium on Cyber Security,” convened to promote the development of technical cyber security capacities and foster a culture that would strengthen this work at a hemispheric level.

The event, which took place on the premises of the Latin American University of Science and Technology (ULACIT), was conducted by instructors from the United States Secret Service (USSS), officials of the Internet Address Registry for Latin America and Caribbean (LACNIC) as well as officials of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICTE) of the OAS. The training techniques were directed at the officials of the Computer Security Incident Response Team of Costa Rica (CSIRT-CR), NIC Costa Rica, the national Police, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, the National Bank, as well as other representatives of critical infrastructure sectors of Costa Rica.

The Executive Secretary of CICTE, Neil Klopfenstein, said the symposium “is another example of the commitment of the OAS and CICTE to help strengthen government cyber securities capacities in Costa Rica.” Klopfenstein said also that the risks in this area are still high and called for the governments, the private sector, and civil society to invest more resources to combat these threats.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Telecommunications of Costa Rica, Alejandro Cruz, said his country, “takes on technological challenges ambitiously and continuously reinterprets them in light of digital developments, giving citizens increasingly lasting and widespread opportunity.” The Minister added that principal challenges include understanding aspects of information and communication technologies that can be used to harm individuals and society, and consequently, the kinds of actions and strategies to mitigate risks, which are inherent in a world where information and knowledge are the currency of the twenty-first century.

This important course that these agencies collaborated to deliver, said Minister Cruz, “is a testament to the recognition that cyber security is essential for the healthy and organic development of the information society in Costa Rica. Specialized techniques for combating cyber crime are essential to protect the most important asset of the people: their data, their personal information, and their rights to secure access to the services that the state must provide them.”

Equally, the NIC Executive Director of Costa Rica, Rosalia Morales, said that, “this type of training will provide an excellent opportunity for Costa Ricans to learn about best practices in cyber security in line with global standards.”

During the opening ceremony of the activity, Mr. Gonzalo Gallegos, Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica, expressed his support for such CICTE initiatives, which ensure contributions to strengthening cyber security in the Americas.

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

Reference: E-381/13