‘Organic Cyber Security Network’ is aimed
Presidential Circular 2020/15 on the National Cyber Security Strategy and Action Plan 2020-2023, prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, was published in the Official Gazette on December 29, 2020. The institutions and organizations responsible for each action to be implemented within the scope of strategic objectives, the steps to be taken within the scope of the action and the realization time of the actions were also determined.
It was mentioned that an effective and strong cyber security understanding plays an important role in the economic growth of countries and increasing social welfare and the following information was shared in the National Cyber Security Strategy and Action Plan 2020–2023: Benefiting from the advantages of information and communication technologies at the highest level depends on the effective and continuous implementation of national cyber security activities. The following points were emphasized in the document: “The security of our citizens, institutions, sectors, in short, our national cyber environment, plays a key role in the economic growth of our country in the face of cyber threats that are structurally changing, evolving, complex and rapidly increasing in number. Conditions related to the global pandemic and its aftermath, in which noticeable changes occur in economic and social life and technological transformation dynamics accelerate; it has also increased cyber security requirements in terms of infrastructure, new technologies, human resources and awareness. It is possible to raise the bar in national cyber security with each passing day with strong national strategies.
In line with the vision and mission of our country in the field of cyber security, the goal of the document is to take the policies for the next 4 years as a subject and to raise the gains obtained in the strategies implemented before. This plan was prepared to take actions that will take our national cyber security one step further and to carry out activities related to this. For this, the effects of technological developments, trends in cyber threats, national needs and international practices were carefully examined and goals were set. In order to achieve these goals, activities to be carried out with the requirements were determined and the studies were completed.”
8 strategic goals, 40 actions, 75 implementation steps
The document was reviewed within the scope of the current situation, planned studies, continuous actions carried out in the 2013-2014 and 2016-2019 period and necessary improvements were made. Within this framework, the strategic goals determined were gathered under 8 main titles:
- Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Increasing Strength
- Developing National Capacity
- Organic Cyber Security Network
- Security of New Generation Technologies Fighting Cyber Crimes
- Developing and Supporting Domestic and National Technologies
- Integration of Cyber Security to National Security
- Development of International Cooperation
The document included the following explanations: “The Preparation Workshop, organized with the participation of national stakeholders to determine the actions to achieve the planned achievements in line with strategic goals, was held on February 19, 2020 with 127 participants from 67 institutions. In the light of the activities carried out and the data obtained as a result of the workshop, 40 actions and 75 implementation steps to be carried out by institutions and organizations regarding 8 strategic goals are included in the action plan.
It is aimed to further increase the level of cyber security with actions aimed at improving processes, making the most of technological components and developing human resources. In this direction; actions were determined in matters such as the implementation of the regulations for the protection of critical infrastructure sectors, the development of cyber risk management and emergency plans, ensuring that the internet traffic with domestic source and target remains in the country and that cyber security is handled within the scope of national security. In addition, it is aimed to increase the human resources in this field with actions aimed at measuring, monitoring and increasing the maturity levels of cyber incident response teams and developing the trainings organized by competent institutions in the field of cyber security, enriching and disseminating the content of cyber security education in primary and secondary schools and higher education.”
National and international cooperation will be developed in cyber security
According to the National Cyber Security Strategy and Action Plan 2020-2023, new generation technologies such as 5G, internet of things and cloud computing are aimed to be safely adapted and used in our country. Within the framework of the planned organic cyber security network, the development of advanced expertise projects and increasing the information sharing between the institutions and individuals working in this field and the National Cyber Incident Response Center (USOM) are among the priority goals. Technological gains will also be increased with the actions to support the work carried out by the private sector on the production of domestic and national cyber security technologies. In addition, due to the nature of cyber security, it is important to develop international cooperation as well as national activities.
In this framework, studies will be carried out to increase bilateral and multilateral cooperation and to improve information sharing and contribution will be made to activities carried out to establish international common norms and standards in cyberspace. The institutions and organizations responsible for the realization of each action to be implemented within the scope of strategic objectives and to be cooperated with, the steps to be taken within the scope of the action and the realization time of the actions were also determined. In the coming period, “National Cyber Security Strategy and Action Plan 2020-2023” will determine the scope of activities to be carried out for national cyber security and it is aimed to actualize the 2023 vision of Turkey in this area.
