OSCE Office helps Armenia address cyber security

Cyber security and cybercrime were the focus of a conference organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Armenian Police on 8 December 2011. The event looked at current challenges in Armenia and international experience in fighting cybercrime with the aim of fostering co-operation between the private sector and law enforcement agencies as well as the international community.

Representatives from law-enforcement bodies, civil society, international organizations and IT experts discussed legislative frameworks regulating the fight against cybercrime, Computer Emergency Response Teams, computer forensics, cyber crime issues related to the fight against children abuse,  intellectual property crimes, and other challenges in the area of information security.

“Apart from the technical and criminal challenges of cyber security,  the right balance needs to be found between monitoring and investigating possible illegal behaviour on the Internet, and freedom of speech and access to information,” said Carel Hofstra, the Acting Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “This requires transparency on the part of law enforcement as well as co-operation with the private sector and civil society, which is what we want to promote with today’s event. The OSCE Office in

Yerevan has been assisting the Government in fighting cyber crime activities for several years and will continue to do so.”

Representatives from the Armenian Police, National Security Service, and the IT community also looked at ways to strengthen their co-operation in fighting cyber crime.