Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At the last summit of the heads of CIS states, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev put forward current initiatives to turn the CIS space into a stable economically developed region and strengthen peace and good-neighborliness in this vast space.

It should be noted that an important and demanded initiative of the President of Uzbekistan, voiced at the last summit of the Commonwealth states, was a proposal to hold an International CIS Expert Forum on Information Security in Tashkent in 2021. 

The relevance of this Forum is due to the fact that the development of information and communication technologies plays an essential role for the economic and socio-political development of both each country individually and humanity as a whole. However, the development of ICT not only creates opportunities for growth and development, but also generates threats to international and national security. In this regard, countering the threats and challenges caused by the era of the formation of the global information society is one of the issues that affect the strategic problems of ensuring sustainable development of the modern world, and the solution of which is possible only if the efforts of the members of the international community are united.

In this context, it should be noted that an increase in the level of cooperation in the field of ICT in the Commonwealth space, a convergence of approaches to ensuring information security, coordinated participation of CIS countries in international information exchange and the formation of an international information security system will allow the CIS states to use the resource and scientific and technical potential as efficiently as possible. to build the information society.

Against this background, there is a need for an integrated approach in the CIS space to information protection and information security.

It should be emphasized that in the light of modern challenges and threats, the issue of ensuring information security has become very relevant and requires close attention of all states without exception.

It should be noted that the statutory bodies of the CIS adopted a number of significant documents defining the goals and principles of interstate interaction in this area, including the “Strategy for cooperation of the CIS member states in building and developing the information society”, “Strategy for ensuring information security” and “Agreement on cooperation of the CIS member states in the field of information security”, etc.

Following the results of the last Summit, in order to consolidate efforts and increase the effectiveness of cooperation between the CIS countries in ensuring international information security, an important document was adopted - a Joint Statement of the Heads of State of the Commonwealth on Cooperation in the Field of International Information Security.

This document is intended to focus the attention of the world community on the inadmissibility of using modern information and communication technologies for purposes incompatible with the tasks of maintaining international peace, security and stability.

Undoubtedly, the joint statement of the leaders of the Commonwealth countries will contribute to strengthening and increasing the effectiveness of cooperation both on the CIS platform and in other multilateral formats.

It is important to note that the restrictive measures introduced in the world related to the coronavirus pandemic have significantly accelerated the digitalization process, contributed to the development of distance learning, telemedicine, online commerce and other areas. In turn, the positive technological effect also served as an impetus for a sharp increase in crime in the information space.

Further intensification of work in this direction is also in demand in the CIS space. In particular, according to official data, for the first half of this year, in the countries of the Commonwealth, more than 31,000 Internet pages with malicious content were blocked, about 3,000 materials recognized by the courts as extremist and prohibited for distribution were removed. In addition, out of 442 registered extremist crimes this year, 262 were committed using the Internet, and out of 1183 terrorist crimes, 218 were committed using the global network.

According to experts, in 2020, due to hacker attacks, the global economy lost more than a trillion dollars (820 billion euros). This is 50% more than two years ago. Thus, including the total amount of damage from the activities of cybercriminals amounted to 1% of world GDP.

In these conditions, further mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of information security will contribute to strengthening and increasing the effectiveness of interaction both within the CIS and in other multilateral formats. In this context, the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan put forward at the CIS summit to hold the CIS International Expert Forum on Information Security in 2021 is relevant and timely.

It is planned to involve the leaders and specialists of leading analytical structures of the Commonwealth countries, representatives of international organizations such as the ATC CIS, RATS SCO, as well as representatives of relevant ministries and departments, scientific and academic circles and the expert community.

At the Forum, experts from the CIS countries will discuss issues of technical protection of information infrastructure facilities, combating crimes on the Internet, ensuring information security in the digital economy and protecting human rights and freedoms in the information environment.

Based on the exchange of practical experience in countering information threats, the Forum participants will develop specific proposals and practical recommendations on the formation of a unified policy to counter threats and challenges in the field of information security in the CIS space.

In general, the Forum will provide a convenient platform for exchanging views on topical issues of ensuring information security in the world and in the Commonwealth space, as well as the opportunity to present the accumulated experience of Uzbekistan in this area, country initiatives and visions for the effective implementation of state policy on information security.

Tursunboy Zikirov,

Head of Department of the Institute

strategic and interregional studies

under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan