THE Oceania Cyber Security Centre (OCSC) today welcomed the release of the Implementation Plan 2023-2030 (the Plan) for the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, following its endorsement by the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting held in the Cook Islands.
Part of the 2050 Strategy’s Technology and Connectivity ambition is for all Pacific Peoples to benefit from access to affordable, safe and reliable ICT infrastructure, systems and operations while ensuring culturally sensitive user-protection and cyber security.
The Plan addresses the first phase of the implementation with a timeframe to 2030, setting out the goals, outcomes and regional collective actions required if the 2050 Strategy is to be realised.
According to Cameron Boardman, Director, OCSC, who was invited to help lead the Forum’s discussion on cybersecurity as part of its Partnerships for Prosperity program, the Plan will be an invaluable tool in ensuring the investment in strengthening the region’s ICT infrastructure and cyber security capacity aligns with the policy objectives as defined by the 2050 Strategy.
“While cyber security has increasingly become a strategic focus area for the Pacific, the release of the Implementation Plan 2023-2030, as endorsed by the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, sets out clear outcomes and marks a further reinforcement of its importance regionally,” he said.
“Recent cyber events in the region have underscored the vulnerability of Pacific nations due to their isolation and dependency on digital technology to be ‘connected’ to the rest of the world.”
“As one of the organisations at the forefront of cyber security capacity building in the region, the OCSC welcomes the Implementation Plan 2023-2030 as a definitive roadmap for Pacific nations as they take the necessary steps to achieving the cyber-related elements of the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent,” he said.
As part of the 52nd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting’s Pacific Partnerships for Prosperity Pavilion program, the OCSC convened and led a panel discussion on Strengthening Cyber Security Arrangements.
Drawing on outcomes from the recent Pacific Cybersecurity Coordination and Capacity Building Conference (P4C), the expert panel presented a number of specific case studies which are currently working in the Pacific and discussed the optimal pathway forward for Pacific nations to improve their cybersecurity capacity and resilience.
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