Above: Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza (OAS Photo/Patricia Leiva)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Organization of American States will be sending a technical assistance mission to Colombia on cyber security, the regional organization announced.

The mission, which will include more than a dozen international experts, is coming to the country at the request of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

The OAS said the regional institution was “very pleased to continue supporting the development of Colombia’s capabilities in this area, and in this regard and responding to the request by the Presidency of Colombia, contributing with this committee of international experts to strengthen the country’s cyber security and cyber defense, as well as providing ideas for the legislative and institutional framework of Colombia in the matter.”

Countries including Canada, Spain, the United States, Estonia, South Korea, Israel, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay have been invited to join the committee.

“At the present time, any person or nation in the world is exposed to a cyber attack. For this reason, it is important for Colombia to learn from the experience in cyber security that ally countries such as Korea, Spain, Israel, and England have acquired, because only together can the world deal with this new and growing type of crimes,” said Colombia’s Defence Minister, Juan Carlos Pinzon. “In this job, which today represents one of the main challenges of the Colombian Government, it is crucial to have the support of the OAS in order to achieve this international block that will enable us to provide security for all citizens when they are in the network.”

The Organization of American States has been making cyber security one of its regional priorities through its Cyber Security Programmme.

In Colombia, the OAS has supported the development of the country’s “National Cyber Security and Cyber Defense Policy,” which created institutions including the Colombian Cyber Emergency Response Group (colCERT), the Cyber Police Center (CCP), and the Joint Cyber Command.”