(BGF) – Governor Michael Dukakis, chairman and co-founder of Boston Global Forum, made his opening speech in the Global Cybersecurity Day (GCD) event which was held in Harvard Faculty Club on December 12, 2015. The GCD is conceived with the purpose of promoting a more safe and secure cyber space.
The event was live-streamed at www.bostonglobalforum.
Watch the Governor Dukakis’s speech here:
Read the full transcript of Governor Dukakis’s opening remarks below:
Thank you very much for being here and thanks to the Internet for allowing us to connect with those of you not in the room.
Cybersecurity is a leading issue of our time. We need only consider the Paris and San Bernardino attacks to remind us of that. Terrorist groups are using the internet to radicalize young people, and terrorist-minded individuals are using the Internet to hone their deranged intentions.
The Internet is a source of great benefits. But it’s also a source of mayhem and mischief.Cyber-based threats, ranging from online fraud to the stealing of state and business secrets are on the rise.
We need to make cybersecurity an imperative, as individuals, as organizations, as governments, as the international community.
To this end, the Boston Global Forum has developed the Ethics Code of Conduct for Cyber Peace and Security (ECCC). It prescribes how netizens, IT experts, institutions, governments, and others should act.
In an effort to advance the cause of cybersecurity, the Boston Global Forum has initiated Global Cybersecurity Day—this conference marks that day. We hope others will adopt the idea, building on it in the way that nearly fifty years ago Earth Day was conceived and promoted.
In our conference today, we have a number of activities aimed at highlighting cybersecurity.
We have initiated an Online Festival, open to people around the world, an opportunity for them to share the benefits of the Internet.
And we will honor today leaders in cybersecurity, as well as leaders who have contributed to peace, security, and development around the world.
