"Promoting Global Cybersecurity" has been adopted by ITU (International Telecommunication Union) as the theme for this year's World Telecommunication Day, which will be commemorated on Wednesday 17 May. The same day has also been chosen by the World Summit on the Information Society as “World Information Society Day”.
The message of ITU's Secretary General on the organization’s 141st anniversary is to highlight the need to build up a global culture of cybersecurity against the threats of cybercrime. The security of cyberspace and of the systems and infrastructure of information and communication technologies is seen as a key factor in the development of societies, with consideration to the role of cyberspace in the integration of citizens with special needs as wells as in situations of emergency or catastrophe.
On World Telecommunication Day, ITU will also publish the results of an online questionnaire, which was launched on 25 April, on the trust that citizens have in electronic transactions and their awareness of cybersecurity measures.
In addition 17 May will also see the launch of a portal on cybersecurity. The portal is organized into 5 key themes: Information sharing of national approaches, good practices and guidelines; Developing watch, warning and incident response capabilities; Technical standards and industry solutions; Harmonizing national legal approaches and international legal coordination; Privacy, data and consumer protection. Users can find information about spam, viruses, phishing and other related topics.
In Portugal, World Telecommunication Day commemorations will take place at Fundação Portuguesa das Comunicações (The Portuguese Communications Foundation). The session includes a conference with a talk about "Stories of Computer Evolution" by Fernandes de Almeida and a presentation by the chairman of ANACOM, as well as the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Works and Communications. The New Multimedia Space of the Foundation will be inaugurated along with the following exhibitions: "From the Byte to the Terabyte"; "Here is a Cat" - an exhibition that only the blind can see by Manuel Carmo; and works about inclusive design.
Further information:
- Message from ITU Secretary General http://www.itu.int/wisd/2006/award/statements/utsumi.html
- World Telecommunications Day 2006 http://www.itu.int/newsroom/wtd/2006/index.html
- Dia Mundial Sociedade Informação 2006 http://www.itu.int/wisd/2006/index.html
- Questionário on-line sobre a confiança nas transacções económicas http://www.itu.int/newsroom/wtd/2006/survey/index.html
- FPC - Dia mundial das Comunicações http://www.fpc.pt/FPCWeb/displayconteudo.do2;jsessionid=B68321A624B6ECE54844C4696CC86AB4?numero=19857
Related information on ANACOM's website:
- World Telecommunication Day https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=272740
