Representatives of private IT companies, academia and the government in the course of this week will come together for common activities to identify solutions to the new cybersecurity challenges. “Moldova Cyber Week 2018” comes with cyberattack simulations, workshops on personal data protection and child protection online, IPN reports

Attending the opening of the event, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said cybersecurity is an absolute necessity without which public services cannot be developed. “Nowadays, given that information technology is used in all the areas, everyone should have knowledge of cybersecurity and personal data protection,” he stated.

According to Pavel Filip, is it important for Moldova to keep pace with IT development so as to provide public services of a high quality and to ensure swiftness in the decision-making process. The ICT sector is important for the country’s economic development. During the past three years alone, the ICT sector of Moldova grew by about 50%.

Rector of the Technical University of Moldova Viorel Bostan said the technologies ease our life, but also oblige us to be ready for cybersecurity challenges. Initially, cybersecurity referred only to the IT sector, but now it also refers to other areas, such as the economy, politics and the social sphere. Through the agency of social networking sites, different mass manipulation instruments are tested. Cybersecurity attacks can endanger the information security of a state. A solution is to prepare high-quality specialists who can cope with cybersecurity threats and this can be done through partnerships between the academic, private companies and the state.

Irina Străjescu, director of the National Association of ICT Companies, said that owing to information technology the world now changes at a phenomenal pace. The available technologies offer multiple possibilities, including of making larger profit and of optimizing the process of doing business. In the public sector, information technology enable to better manage administrative processes and transactions. Besides incontestable benefits, there are also risks. To ensure cybersecurity, the private campaniles, the state and the academic community should cooperate. “In the IT sector, we are never prepared more than it is necessary,” stated Irina Străjescu.