OSCE co-organizes sub-regional training course in Bucharest on role of information and communication technologies in context of regional and international security

Some 40 officials and experts from eight OSCE participating States in South-Eastern Europe gathered in Bucharest on 27 and 28 June 2018 for a sub-regional training course organized by the OSCE and Romania’s Foreign Ministry on the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the context of regional and international security.

The course was the third event of a series of sub-regional training courses organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department. Like in the previous courses, held in Tashkent and Astana, participants discussed practical measures to enhance cyber stability between States, including effective national interagency co-operation, private-public partnerships and dedicated communication lines on the policy level between States to avoid possible misunderstandings in the cyber sphere.  

“Europe is facing a major security crisis and we have to enhance trust in cyberspace in order to prevent future conflicts by kinetic means and their further escalation,” said Ambassador Victor Micula, General Deputy Director for Strategic Affairs at Romania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  “The OSCE’s position is unique in this sense with its sixteen ground-breaking cyber confidence-building measures.”

Ambassador Karoly Dan, Permanent Representative of Hungary to the OSCE and Chair of the OSCE Informal Working Group established by Decision 1039 of the OSCE Permanent Council, said: “Cyber does not know borders, therefore co-operation between states is indispensable. To exchange information and best practices about issues related to cyberspace and the threats resulting from it is a great start to enhancing co-operation and creating trust between countries facing the same challenges.”

The training course is part of a project which aims to enhance effective implementation and awareness of the OSCE cyber/ICT security confidence building measures, taking into account sub-regional differences in this field.