UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan seeks enhanced cyberspace security to realize the full potential of information and communication technologies.
"In an increasingly interconnected and networked world, it has become critically important to safeguard our vital systems and infrastructures against attack by cyber criminals, while instilling confidence in online transactions in order to promote trade, commerce, banking, telemedicine, e-government and a host of other e-applications," he said in a message Wednesday marking the first World Information Society Day.
"As this depends on the security practices of each and every networked country, business and citizen, we need to develop a global culture of cyber security," he added, calling on all U.N. member states and stakeholders to help increase global awareness of cyber security.
Annan wants them to develop an international network of initiatives and ICT-based countermeasures to enhance security and build trust in the use of information and communication technologies.
"This is essential for the continued growth and development of our economies, and especially important for developing countries," the secretary-general said in his statement.
The World Summit on the Information Society, held in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005, recognized the International Telecommunication Union, the world's oldest international organization, which was founded on May 17, 1865, and is now a U.N. specialized agency.
