Andy Purdy addressed delegates gathered in Durban, South Africa, for a government technology conference hosted by the country's State Information Technology Agency.

In a copy of his prepared remarks posted on his Web site, he called for the creation of public-private partnerships to bring under control the growing threat of cyberattacks worldwide.

"It is vitally important to the future of cyberspace, and all who depend on it within government and the private sector, that the existing international collaboration and information sharing among … key players in the IT and communications infrastructure be significantly enhanced," said Purdy, a former acting director of the National Cyber Security Division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and currently a private cybersecurity consultant.

"Just as it is critical within a nation, it is also essential internationally that international organizations, governments and global companies build and operate at least an informal collaboration framework to assess and mitigate risk and enhance resiliency; build an international capability for detection, analysis, watch and warning, and response and recovery; and build a capability to collect and share information about the most significant malicious actors in cyberspace, those who enable them, and the black markets in malicious cyber-tools for exploitation."

He said his call for greater international cooperation was "not a criticism of the activity that has developed to date; rather, it reflects the reality that the seriousness of the current global threat warrants a corresponding level of international engagement."