On Thursday, October 13, in the premises of Logosoft in Sarajevo, a meeting of members of the AmCham BiH ICT Committee was held on the occasion of increasingly frequent cyber attacks on state institutions and companies in the country.
The meeting was also attended by Mr. Ilan Goodman and Mr. Emil Ahmagić in front of the cyber security department of the US Embassy in BiH, and participated in a discussion about the current situation with representatives of the 20 most important market actors in the field of information technology.
The President of the ICT Committee, Damir Dizdarević, in his introductory presentation, informed the audience of current events in the field of cyber security in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the fact that all relevant information received from security agencies indicates that these are targeted attacks, and that it is expected that are intensifying in the coming period not only in BiH but also in the region.
Those present agreed on the need for synchronized action of state institutions at all levels and identification of responsible authorities, with the aim of preventing and suppressing cyber-attacks that threaten the functioning of not only the business community, but also crucial public institutions and citizen services. Given the continuous growth in the number and severity of cyber-attacks, the members of the committee agree that the authorities should insist on action and adopting a strategy immediately, because there is no time for delay for political or administrative reasons.
A special review was also made of the AmCham conference on cyber security organized in June, and it was concluded that there is a need to hold it again in the first half of next year, as an opportunity to gather in one place decision-makers and parliamentarians from the highest legislative bodies and the wider business community.
The ICT Committee will also continue to launch initiatives towards state authorities that aim to facilitate the development of the IT industry and, consequently, the entire economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this field, the focus will primarily be on the digitization process as an accelerator of economic development and means for improving civil services and the abolition/reduction of import duties on certain IT equipment.
