Monday, May 13, 2013

Cyber Security: Patience Jonathan Appointed To Lead Global Campaign

 

The Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union, Dr. Hamadoun Touré, has appointed the wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, as the union’s Online Protection Champion.
The union said it believed in the President wife’s ability to spread the cyber security message and push for necessary reforms not only in the Africa region, but across the globe.
Jonathan received her letter of appointment from the Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, ITU, Mr. Brahima Sanou, who met with her on Friday to discuss issues related to cyber threats and cyber security in the Africa region, the union said in a statement.
Sanou was accompanied by the Chairman of the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (ITU’s executing arm for cyber security), Mr. Datuk Amin; and ITU’s Regional Director for Africa, Mr. Andrew Rugege.
“It is a great honour for ITU to have the support of Nigeria’s First Lady,” Touré was quoted as saying, adding, “Her commitment is a further confirmation of the key role that ITU is playing as a global catalyst and facilitator in international dialogue and cooperation in the area of cyber security.”
Sanou added, “COP framework has become a crucial means of creating a safe environment for our children, while they are on the net. Both ITU and IMPACT have faith in her ability to spread this message and push for reforms not only in the Africa region but across the globe.”
The Chairman, IMPACT, Mr. Datuk Amin, said Jonathan would be the advocate for ITU’s Child Online Protection initiative.
“She is both a progressive leader and renowned humanitarian, and is the ideal candidate to help ITU-IMPACT in its mission to push for COP awareness and the need for national online protection frameworks to protect and support the younger generations online,” he said.
In addition to the COP initiative, ITU and IMPACT are looking at the possibility of setting up a Cybersecurity Regional Centre in Nigeria, which will play an essential role in supporting the expansion of their network globally, by localising cyber security services to meet the unique needs of the region.
Nigeria has indicated its interest in hosting a new regional centre under the ITU-IMPACT framework.
The proposed regional centre will become a vital hub of expertise and constitute an important component of the multi-stakeholder network that must be built to support government, industry and citizens so that the full benefits of information and communications technology can be assured for all citizens.
“While acting as a catalyst for greater regional collaboration to address escalating cyber threats, this centre would also help promote Nigeria as an advanced cybersecurity hub for the region,” Sanou added.

No comments:

Post a Comment