Director General of Defense Potential, Ministry of Defense, Dr. Timbul Siahaan;
Major General Yoedhi Swatanto,
Rear Admiral Amri Husaini,
Air Vice Marshall Bambang Agus Margono,
RDML Nancy Norton, Director for Command, Control, Communications, and Cyber, (J6) USPACOM,
other distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here to help open this important second phase of the Indonesia-U.S. cyber security seminar.
In June of 2014 the first Cyber Security Awareness Seminar marked a successful demonstration of the Government of Indonesia’s commitment to a multi-stakeholder approach to cybersecurity policy development and execution. We are glad to build on the success of that seminar today.
The United States government takes cybersecurity extremely seriously, and understands both the challenges and the necessity of addressing cybersecurity threats through a broad, full-spectrum approach that incorporates not only civilian and military government officials, but private sector leaders, academics, and ordinary users.
Over the past decade we have seen cyber attacks become an increasingly high-profile and damaging weapon of choice for criminals, terrorists, and even governments.
In just the past year, attacks launched from cyberspace have caused very real damage to both governments and private companies, including in the United States. There are also countless victims of online fraud, identity theft, and other crimes.
Devising and implementing an effective cyber security strategy to counter these threats requires a whole-of-government approach.
For the United States, that means our Department of Homeland Security is in the lead, working closely with the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce, the State Department, Treasury Department, and others at the national level.
And perhaps just as important –it means working closely with the private sector, both to utilize private sector technology solutions and to encourage the private sector to strengthen its own cyber security capabilities and resiliency.
For almost a decade, the United States has been working continuously to improve our cyber security capabilities, and, just as importantly, to do so in a way that does not cut us off from the world.
In May 2011, President Obama launched our International Strategy for Cyberspace. That document balances our cyber security goals with our approach to other cyber issues related to law enforcement, economic development and innovation, governance, and free speech.
In January 2014, our Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology released a new Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. That framework forms the basis for our government’s approach to protecting critical infrastructure in partnership with the private sector.
And earlier this month, President Obama established the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center.
The CTIIC is another example of our recognition that in the realm of cyber security, effective coordination and information-sharing are absolutely vital to addressing cyber threats.
The CTIIC will not be an operational entity—its sole purpose is to gather, analyze, integrate, and distribute all-source cyber threat information.
Another pillar of our response must be cooperation with friends like Indonesia to address common threats.
Indonesia’s former Defense Minister Purnomo wisely noted at the last cyber security seminar the need for “out of the box” thinking to raise awareness of cyber threats and prevent disruption or damage to critical infrastructure.
Indonesia’s planned National Cyber Agency for Information Resilience and Cyber Security will certainly enhance coordination and synchronization within the Government of Indonesia.
This Cyber Security seminar is another example of the kind of mutually beneficial activities that we are doing together under our Comprehensive Partnership that will strengthen our relationship and help both our countries.
Cyberspace touches nearly every part of our daily lives. It is the broadband networks beneath us and the wireless signals around us.
It is the local networks in our schools, hospitals and businesses, and the massive grids that power our nations.
It is the military networks that keep us safe, and the World Wide Web that has made us more interconnected than in any time in human history.
Unfortunately, our interconnected world also exposes all of us to hostile actors that seek to exploit, disrupt, deny, and degrade the networks and systems our societies, our governments, and our militaries depend on.
Their acts of aggression include theft or exploitation of data; disruption or denial of access or service; and destructive action.
Cybersecurity is in many ways the newest frontier for government policymaking, and no one has all the answers or solutions. New threats emerge daily and evolve continuously. This seminar will help identify those and how we can work together to address them.
An effective response will of course require tremendous human capacity and agile policymaking, but above all success will demand partnership among governments, private sector entities, and anyone who wants to keep the Internet a free and open tool for accessing information and increasing prosperity.
As our government continues to adapt, respond to, and anticipate these new threats we are absolutely committed to making international cooperation on cybersecurity a cornerstone of our foreign policy.
We are very pleased to have laid this foundation for a long-term partnership with Indonesia on these issues that affect us both, and look forward to following up with concrete cooperation through the Comprehensive Partnership.
I wish you success in your deliberations and look forward to hearing the results of this important seminar.
As prepared.
