Malaysian centre heads up ITU/IMPACT global cybercrime defence

Details: James Barton; Category: Revenue & Billing; 14 October 2009; 10033 views

The ITU/IMPACT partnership against cybercrime took the opportunity of ITU Telecom World 2009 to showcase one of the world’s most advanced systems to combat global cyberattacks...

The ITU/IMPACT partnership against cybercrime took the opportunity of ITU Telecom World 2009 to showcase one of the world’s most advanced systems to combat global cyberattacks.

IMPACT (the International Multilateral Partnership against Cyber Threats) set up its Global Response Centre (GRC) in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, earlier this year as the international community’s foremost cyberthreat resource. Created to locate, track and defend against cyberthreats, the centre’s Early Warning System allows IMPACT members to identify and head-off potential and imminent threats before they can inflict damage on national networks.

The GRC offers a framework for countries to collaborate and effectively respond to cyberthreats. Dr Hamadoun Touré stressed the importance of forming a global cybersecurity alliance: “Every country is now critically dependent on technology for commerce, finance, healthcare, emergency services, food distribution and more. Loss of vital networks would quickly cripple any nation – and none is immune to cyberattack”.

Sami Al-Basheer, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, added “In facilitating the access by ITU Member States to a global platform, we are realising effective international cooperation. This is the very first time that so many nations are agreeing to work together to achieve a global culture of cybersecurity, and we hope that all 191 ITU Member States will benefit from this unique initiative.”

IMPACT and ITU are working together with partners from across the industry which provide the GRC with live data inputs to enable real-time analysis, aggregation and dissemination of global cyberthreat information. The two organisations signed an MoU last year at the ITU Telecom Asia 2008 event in Bangkok, Thailand, as part of ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA). Launched in 2007, the GCA is a broad multi-stakeholder initiative designed to combat cyberthreats at a global level. The agreement allows ITU’s 191 Member States to take advantage of IMPACT’s advanced cybersecurity capabilities by becoming IMPACT partners.

More info: