Electronic shield plan for Balkans
By end-October the communication ministers of Southeastern Europe will have in hand a proposal for the establishment of a network for responding to electronic threats in the broader area, by the Southeastern Europe Telecommunication and Informatics Research Institute (INA), an event in Thessaloniki heard yesterday. The regional ministerial meeting is taking place on October 28 and 29 in Sarajevo, and is expected to view the INA proposal in a positive light, said the president of INA, Vassilis Takas. «Greece could have a decisive role in this network,» he said while addressing the third Regional Electronic Security Forum. «The mere fact that the contribution of telecoms and informatics covered 3.8 percent of Greece’s gross domestic product proved how belatedly we have realized the importance and the key role of telecoms and informatics in the growth process,» he added. Electronic security is paramount for all economic, commercial and social activity, said the special secretary for digital planning at the Economy and Finance Ministry, Vassilis Asimakopoulos. He announced that within a month, at the latest, a special user’s guide will be ready for safe surfing on the Internet. A recent survey by Pricewaterhouse Coopers showed that 15 percent of all funds invested in informatics concern electronic security. Asimakopoulos presented the forum with the state’s digital strategy up to 2013, noting that the key aim is an increase in users’ confidence in digital transactions and activities. He also referred to the work of the Digital Awareness and Response to Threats team (DART) toward this end.
