Colombia plans creation of national cybersecurity body

Colombia’s government plans to submit shortly a bill to the congress to create a national cybersecurity agency.

The announcement was made by ICT minister Mauricio Lizcano during the Cyber Summit hosted by the UK embassy.

Lizcano aims to take advantage of the start of the new legislature, which begins on July 20, an ICT ministry press release said.

The agency would be part of a broader cybersecurity strategy. 

Lizcano said Colombia should become a regional cybersecurity benchmark, potentially offering services to other nations.

“If there is no digital security, we cannot build a real transformation. Cybersecurity is a public policy project for Colombia to be a world power. We are open to cooperating with the private sector, academia, the armed forces and other countries in the world,” Lizcano told the event, according to a press release.

Strengthening cyber emergency response group Colcert is also part of that strategy.

Colcert's taskforce coordinates prevention, mitigation, management and response to digital security incidents in the public and private sectors.

Lizcano also referred to a previously announced creation of a cybersecurity center in Caldas, with investments in the BIOS supercomputer.

Another pillar is the training of personnel in partnership with stakeholders.

This week, the EU announced support for Colombia's cybersecurity plans as part of a set of initiatives and investments agreed during the EU-Celac summit.

Colombian officials also discussed 5G and cybersecurity with US representatives.