For Immediate Release
REMARKS (as prepared)
Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Daniel Bischof
Closing Ceremony of the Third Country Training Program (TCTP) Workshop on Cybercrime
Singapore
November 8, 2019
Before I begin, I would like to recognize the hard work of our co-sponsors from the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs who have done an excellent job this week.
We appreciate the efforts of Mr. Chee Chian Koh and his team at the MFA- Shi Min CHENG, Hwee Khoon CHUA, Celia TANG and Odelia OH- and everyone else there, thank you.
I would also like to thank the Singapore Police Force and the Department of Justice who jointly conducted this training, along with Interpol who so generously provided this facility and their expertise.
Thank you to all of the fantastic speakers and to my interagency colleagues for leading sessions,
And to each participant, I would also like to thank you for your willingness to engage and share best practices related to the prevention of cybercrime.
Last month in October, we observed National Cybersecurity Awareness Month in the United States, a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity.
This campaign hopes to ensure that Americans have the resources that they need to be safer and more secure online. But this message isn’t specific to just Americans.
Prevention of cybercrime requires a concerted effort by everyone and I hope that this workshop has given you new insight and ideas about how to combat cybercrime in your respective countries. And, of equal importance, inspired you to share these ideas with your colleagues upon your return.
Many of us represent governments that have suffered cybersecurity breaches, the United States included, or have personally been affected by a cyber-incident.
If many of you are like me, you likely have a relative (maybe a parent or a grandparent) or friend who has been the victim of cybercrime. Or maybe you personally have been the victim of a big data breach that exposed your private information; opening you up to a potential financial loss or stolen identity .
As people and commerce expand online interactions and exchanges, the types of risk we face become more sophisticated and the consequences more damaging.
These risks expand exponentially based on the volume and nature of the information stored, with government systems often targeted by cybercriminals.
As sovereign countries, we have a responsibility to our citizens to use the tools and skills at our disposal to strengthen our cyber infrastructure against all types of cyber threats.
Your presence this week highlights your country’s commitment to deterring cybercrime and reaffirms ASEAN’s joint efforts to bolster international partnerships through capacity building and information sharing.
In October, the United States was very pleased to host the inaugural U.S.-ASEAN Cyber Policy Dialogue in tandem with Singapore’s fourth annual International Cyber Week.
This Dialogue was an opportunity to advance our shared vision for an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure cyberspace that fosters innovation, communication, and economic prosperity.
This is the fourth time we’ve co-hosted the TCTP Cybercrime workshop and we are delighted to partner with Singapore to continue to provide this training because we understand the importance of collaboration to achieve this shared vision.
Finally, as you return home, I hope that you will continue to reach out to the contacts that you’ve met here to help you in addressing the unique cybercrime threats that you each face.
By harnessing the power of collaboration, we can each do our part to prevent cybercrime.
