With the support of the Information Technologies and Communication Institution, the cybersecurity conference Hacktrick 2022, organized by the Blackbox Security team, Prisma CSI, and the Cyber Clubs Union, was held at the BTK Conference Hall.
In his opening speech at the conference, Communications General Manager Gökhan Evren stated that while experiencing technological developments such as augmented reality, virtual reality, blockchain, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and big data on one hand, they discussed which technologies will shape the coming years in the next stage on the other.
Expressing that data is becoming increasingly valuable in light of these developments, Evren emphasized that cybersecurity has emerged as one of the most fundamental needs to advance more confidently into the future.
Evren said that cybersecurity goes beyond being merely a technical issue, has taken its place in national and international security strategies, and is evaluated as the fifth operational domain after land, air, sea, and space.
Drawing attention to the fact that cybersecurity in Türkiye is today an inseparable part of national security, Evren said, "In terms of ensuring cybersecurity, many important planning and implementation efforts are taking place in the background. In this regard, I would like to state that our country has taken precautions at an early stage, that ensuring national cybersecurity is one of the top priority issues, and that efforts in this direction have gained great momentum in recent periods."
Noting that the National Cyber Incident Response Center (USOM), established in 2013 under the national cybersecurity organization, operates within BTK, Evren stated that they have also expanded Cyber Incident Response Teams (SOME), which are other important components of the national cybersecurity organization, nationwide.
Pointing out that electronic communications, finance, energy, water management, transportation, and critical public services have been identified as critical sectors in Türkiye, Evren noted that 14 sectoral SOMEs and 2,077 corporate SOMEs are operational. Evren drew attention to the fact that 6,264 cybersecurity experts in SOMEs continue their work towards ensuring national cybersecurity.
Stating that they continue to carry out projects for technological measures to develop rapid detection and early intervention capabilities against cyber incidents, Evren said they continue to regularly conduct regulation, supervision, monitoring, and vulnerability scanning activities for the protection of critical infrastructures.
Evren noted that as a result of cybersecurity activities carried out in Türkiye in recent periods, according to the data of the “Global Cybersecurity Index” used by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to measure countries' maturity in cybersecurity, Türkiye climbs higher in the rankings every year.
BTK Deputy President Mustafa Küçükali also drew attention to the fact that one of the most important aspects in cybersecurity is human resources, saying, "Domestic and national products can only be produced with our domestic and national human resources. In this context, our Institution is carrying out important studies to increase cybersecurity awareness in every segment of society, especially to develop the skills and professionalize our young people who are interested in this field."
BTK Human Resources and Training Department Head Mustafa Ermiş also stated that BTK Academy provides services everywhere with internet access, regardless of age, title, or education level, with a scientific, technological, and continuously renewing education approach. Ermiş, who noted that the education portal has 900 thousand registered users as of today, announced that more than 100 thousand minutes of online training are offered in BTK Academy under 8 main categories and 194 topics.
Drawing attention to the fact that face-to-face trainings, workshops, and competitions will be held in many areas, especially cybersecurity, within the scope of the event, Ermiş made a call: "I invite you to become BTK Academy volunteers as trainers or to support us in these organizations."
The Hacktrick Cybersecurity Conference, which started in 2014 under the auspices of Ankara University with the slogan “Inter-University Cybersecurity Summit,” brings together the private sector, state institutions, and universities within the framework of cybersecurity.