By Emeka  Aginam
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has said that the United Kingdom’s  Minister of State for Security and Counter-Terrorism, Rt Hon Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones,  will deliver the keynote address at the Cybersecurity Forum 2010 slated to hold next week  in the United Kingdom.

The Minister, according to CTO,   is expected to discuss the broad framework within which Commonwealth cooperation against cyber crimes could be built, taking into account the unique strengths of the UK.
The Cybersecurity Forum 2010, organized  by CTO is due to be held on the 17th and 18th of June 2010, at the BIS Conference Centre in Victoria, London.

Ahead of the capacity building forum, the CEO of CTO, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah who made a remark on the  role of the Rt Hon Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones at the conference said that , “We are honored to have such a senior UK Government official’s support in leading this Commonwealth initiative.

“Today, governments, enterprises, families and individuals around the world are all vulnerable to and subjected to cyber crimes and cyber attacks in one form or another. From routine spamming, to various kinds of fraud, to hacking and terrorism, no community or nation is immune.

Yet, ICT, properly used, are such a potent force for human progress. “This forum will provide opportunities for a number of ministers, other high level government officials, officials of ICT equipment manufacturers and operators, and representatives of standards-setting bodies and other Internet-sector stakeholders, to examine  ways to tackle the challenges posed by an increasingly all-encompassing  Cyber world.”

The CTO Head expressed appreciation for the support the Forum has received from the UK Office of Cyber Security and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

He said, “It is through such backing and collaborative efforts that we are able to raise awareness of the seriousness of Cyber crimes and encourage development of standards to help pave a path leading to a more secure Cyber space, especially in countries that are still digitally undeveloped.”

An opening speech by Hon. Ms Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, will strengthen the critical message of collaboration, cooperation and partnership which the Commonwealth wishes to convey.

The conference is envisaged to assemble an illustrious line-up of speakers from a number of global and regional organisations mandated in the field of Cybersecurity, including ICANN, ITU, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Network and Information Security Agency, the European Commission and the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT), Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Senior executives of many industry players, including Research In Motion (RIM), Microsoft, IBM, BT and WNLabs, will share their knowledge on various aspects of Cyber security.

The views of these experts are expected to help  delegates from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the European regions attending the Forum to gain a better understanding of the nature of various Cyber threats, their potential impact, as well as what  possible responses can be planned by governments, businesses and individuals.

Importantly, as a gathering of primarily the stakeholders of the Commonwealth, the event is expected to lay the foundation for common approaches and joint action to strengthen Cybersecurity frameworks across the Commonwealth, so that its less developed members are as well equipped as the more developed members in preventing and responding to Cyber threats.

With a history dating back to 1901, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is an international development partnership between the Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth governments, businesses and civil society organisations.

CTO provides the international community with effective means to help bridge the digital divide and achieve social and economic development, by delivering to developing countries unique knowledge-sharing programmes in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

With its headquarters in London and recipient members based in Europe, the Caribbean, Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, the CTO has been at the centre of continuous and extensive international communications development funding, co-operation and assistance programmes. CTO’s mission is to reduce global poverty through the more efficient utilization of ICTs, and its development agenda reflects the priorities set in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).