A Cyber Incident Response Team focused on the civilian sector began to work in Kyrgyzstan
In recent years, with the development of digitalization, the number of cybercrimes has also increased. According to official data, in Kyrgyzstan, on average, about 20 Kyrgyz websites are subjected to cyberattacks daily. Lack of education and lack of specialized experts lead to an increase in cybercrime and loss of personal data. With the launch of the Cybersecurity Coordination Center under the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic, almost all government agencies have the opportunity to receive assistance. At the same time, civil society remains vulnerable and continues to face cyber incidents, including hacks of personal pages.
In this regard, the Public Association “Internet Society Kyrgyzstan Chapter” (ISOC), with the assistance of Nothing2Hide (France), is launching the “Tech4Society” project to support activists, journalists and the civil sector on digital security issues. The project will operate a technical assistance call center in Kyrgyz and Russian, available 24 hours. This call center will respond to incidents related to data privacy, computer security and provide prompt assistance with cyber attacks that users face every day.
“In the media, examples of hacks and information leaks are increasingly being published. At the beginning of the year alone, more than ten journalists and activists complained that their accounts had been hacked. Moreover, at the end of 2019, following the publications of the customs corruption investigation, media websites experienced unprecedented DDoS attacks, which made their websites unavailable. To date, there are only two institutions in the country that deal with cyber incidents and they cover only the public sector. While civic activists, journalists and small businesses remain vulnerable and unprotected,” said Nurbek Arzymbaev, head of the Tech4Society project.
The project also plans to conduct trainings on cyber hygiene in order to increase awareness of the security tools of active communities. These events will help increase cyber resilience in the activities of journalists, activists, representatives of non-profit organizations and small businesses.
The call center can be contacted via the Signal app +996 501 551 029 or email [email protected].
More details about the project can be found at the following link: https://isoc.kg/ru/projects/t4s/
