Bangladesh to UN: Multilateralism key to ensuring cybersecurity

Multilateralism is the key to ensuring cybersecurity, and no single government can manage its security on its own. 

Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN Masud Bin Momen made this remark while speaking at an event titled "Cyber-Security and Capacity-Building," said the Bangladesh Mission on Monday.

The program was organized by Singapore in collaboration with United Nations (UN) Office for Disarmament at their headquarters in New York. 

He said: "Our only hope for a free, secure, stable, accessible, and peaceful ICT environment is through multilateralism." 

Ambassador Masud also put forward some specific suggestions for creating a strong global cybersecurity environment, reports UNB. 

His suggestions include: the UN continuing its norm-setting role in cyberspace by utilizing the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) and Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) platforms for defining the future rules of the road; enhancing confidence among stakeholders; and building security measures. 

He said the Member States must demonstrate strong political commitment to ensure a secure cyberspace for the upcoming generations. 

In this context, he mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had pledged Bangladesh's support for promoting a culture of cybersecurity, and called for a UN High Level Conference on Cybersecurity in a high level side event organized by Bangladesh on the margins of the high level segment of the 73rd UNGA in September 2018. 

"In the absence of a globally accepted norms structure, the principles of the UN Charter and relevant international law should apply to cyberspace," he added. 

The ambassador stated that countries need meaningful global cooperation for defending from cyberattacks, creating awareness, developing reliable early-warning systems, and creating capacity to coordinate across sectors including governments and major transnational corporations (TNCs). 

According to the ambassador, countries need constant engagement for sharing best practices to tackle terrorists' use of cyberspace, attacks against critical infrastructures, cybertheft, and sharing critical information and data on cyber incidents, he said. 

He also said countries must build public-private partnerships to tackle cyber issues. 

Mentioning ICT as a key driver of Bangladesh's sustainable development efforts led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the ambassador said they envision transforming Bangladesh into a digitally advanced middle-income country by 2021 and a developed country by 2041.

The ambassador said: "During the last decade, our investments in the ICT sector have paid us rich dividends. We have been able to expand access to ICTs for our people at an unimaginable pace. Taking advantage of e-governance and e-commerce, we could bring services and commodities to the doorsteps of our people.” 

"The government has become more efficient, transparent, and accountable in delivering services." 

Ambassador Masud highlighted several steps taken by the Bangladesh government to secure its hard-earned gains in the ICT sector, such as building a safer ICT ecosystem, strengthening cyber-resilience in financial sectors and promoting a cybersecurity culture across various administrative, legal and business continuums. 

The ambassador also informed them about Bangladesh's Cyber Security Strategy, National ICT Policy, Information Security Policy Guidelines and Digital Security Act (DSA).

He stated that Bangladesh has a target to have at least one thousand cybersecurity experts by 2021 for capacity building. 

Ambassador Masud also enumerated several measures of Bangladesh in the cybersecurity field, such as establishing a Digital Forensic Laboratory and Computer Emergency Response Team. 

Izumi Nakamitsu, Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and David Koh, Chief Executive, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, participated in the event, among others. 

The event was moderated by Permanent Representative from Singapore Burhan Gafoor.