Secretary-General, in Cyberspace Conference Message, Stresses Need for Stronger

Measures to Protect Critical Global Networks against Cyber Threats

 

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message to the Seoul Conference on Cyberspace, in Seoul on 17 October:

Your Excellency, Ms. Park Geun-hye, President of the Republic of Korea, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Distinguished Ministers, Dr. Hamadoun Touré, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, ladies and gentlemen,

I thank the Republic of Korea for hosting the Seoul Conference on Cyberspace.  This is a fitting site given the country’s leadership in information technology and its work to address emerging security issues, as showcased by last year’s Nuclear Security Summit.

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have transformed the way we live and work — improving lives and helping us achieve our development goals.  These technologies are also re-shaping international security — for good and for ill.  In recent years, the malicious use of ICTs has fostered cross-border crime and undermined security.

Cyberattacks have the potential to destabilize on a global scale.  Cybersecurity must therefore be a matter of global concern.  We need to work together to bolster confidence in our networks, which are central to international commerce and governance.

We need to strengthen national legislation, push for international frameworks for collaboration and adopt the necessary measures to detect and defuse cyber threats.  We need to plug loopholes to stop perpetrators of cybercrimes and bring them to justice.

The Seoul Conference can help show the way forward to realize our common vision of safe, secure and affordable access to global networks.

Thank you for coming together to advance these important goals.

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For information media • not an official record