SCO scientific and expert forum on information security is being held in Tashkent on September 6

A press conference was held at the Agency for Information and Mass Communications under the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan on the upcoming scientific and expert forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on information security in Tashkent on September 6.

Speaking at a press conference, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan (ISRS) Bobur Usmanov spoke about the timeliness and importance of this forum.

According to him, the event is being organized as part of the practical implementation of the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, put forward on September 17, 2021 at the Dushanbe Summit of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States.

At the meeting, the President of Uzbekistan, emphasizing the key priorities of intensifying efforts to ensure peace and stability in the SCO space, noted the importance of ensuring regular discussion of the current situation, agreeing on joint measures to counter challenges and threats, including in the information field.

“In this regard, the head of our state proposed to hold an SCO expert forum on information security. This would make it possible to develop coordinated measures to adequately respond to modern threats and challenges in cyberspace,” the expert emphasized.

Speaking about the potential of the SCO member states in ensuring information security, Bobur Usmanov cited some facts. According to the 2021 Global Cybersecurity Index, Russia and India are in the top ten, while China and Kazakhstan are among the 40 countries. The index takes into account legal, technical and organizational measures, as well as development potential and cooperation with other states.

It was noted that today information security is becoming increasingly important in the overall system of national security of Uzbekistan and regional stability. At the same time, the cross-border nature of the challenges and threats in this area requires the constant development of joint actions at the bilateral, regional and international levels.

The timeliness and importance of the event lies in the fact that, despite the efforts of countries, there is an aggravation of threats to information security, including an increase in the activity of extremist and terrorist groups in the virtual space. In 2018-2021, the SCO states restricted access to more than 500,000 terrorist Internet resources.

In order to prevent the active recruitment of citizens of the SCO member states into the zones of terrorist activity, 6 channels of transportation were blocked, bank accounts of more than 5 thousand people and 24 channels of terrorist financing were blocked.

The organization of the expert forum will also contribute to the practical implementation of the SCO Plan for cooperation in the field of international information security and the use of scientific potential in countering common threats and challenges in this direction.

Currently, preparations are being completed for this forum, which is organized by the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the support of the The Ministry for Development of Information Technologies and Communications of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.

The relevance of this topic is confirmed by the representative composition of the participants. The forum is scheduled to be attended by SCO Secretary General Zhang Ming, Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO RATS Ruslan Mirzaev, as well as leading experts from relevant ministries and departments, scientific, academic and analytical circles of the member states of the organization.

Uzbekistan will be represented at the level of senior officials of the Presidential Administration, responsible departments of the ministries for the development of information technologies and communications, foreign affairs, as well as specialized departments - the National Center for Human Rights, the State Inspectorate for Control in the Sphere of Informatization and Telecommunications, the Center for the Development of Information Technologies and Information resources, Uzbektelecom, Cybersecurity Center.

The event involves the discussion of a wide range of issues, including cooperation in combating threats in the information space, ensuring human rights in the context of combating cyber threats, expanding the role of the SCO and strengthening interaction between states in this area.

"The expert forum will make it possible to reach the adoption of coordinated and complementary measures in the field of information security, which will significantly increase the efficiency of the work carried out in this area within the SCO states," the deputy director of the ISRS concluded. 

“Dunyo” IA