CICTE’S First Cyber Security Program CSIRT Training Course held in Brazil

The CICTE Secretariat organized its first training course June 25-29 in Brasilia, Brazil, on the Creation and Management of CSIRTs.   Forty-three officials from the formally designated CSIRTs in Member States attended the course, which was funded by the Government of Canada and conducted by experts of the Government of Brazil with in-kind contributions from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (ABIN) and the Department of Information Security and Communications (DSIC) at ABIN’s facilities.  The training addressed the required steps for the creation and management of a national CSIRT and the adoption of protection measures to prevent, deter, neutralize and mitigate effects of deliberate or other actions against critical cyber infrastructure.  The goal was to strengthen OAS Member States’ capacity to respond to such actions in a timely and effective manner.   

Next Steps:  The course helped to consolidate intergovernmental and interagency partnerships and to promote creation of an eventual hemispheric network of CSIRTs through the establishment of a centralized server and CSIRT LISTSERV, in compliance with the OAS Strategy.  In addition, participants signed the Charter of Brasilia (calling for technical exchange of information and best practices among the participants).  Argentina, Guatemala and Uruguay expressed interest in hosting future meetings.  The CICTE Secretariat and the US Secret Service hope to offer another training course in Miami in October or November, focusing on the 22 OAS Member States that have not yet established their national CSIRT. The Secretariat is actively seeking other partners for future coordination, including in the private sector. 

For more information, please contact: Mr. Romulo Dantas RDantas@oas.org, or Mr. Belisario Contreras cictecons2@oas.org