23rd May, 2017 The Acting Prime Minister Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni on behalf of the Tonga National CERT signed a Framework for Operational Collaboration (FOC) on Cyber Security with the CERT Australia to record the following understanding to assist addressing of threats and achieving goals in terms of the Cyber Security, at the MEIDECC’s Headquarters.
Hon. Siaosi Sovaleni stated that this agreement marks a significant milestone for Tonga to be recognized with the problems happening on Cyber Security, and not only that Tonga faced challenges in lacking expertise and capacity within Line Ministries – Tonga is still a developing nation.
Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, Dr. Tobias Feakin said, “Tonga is pushing forward in addressing issues of cyber security and we are happy to see that becoming more operative in the future”.
The purpose of this Framework for Operational Collaboration on Cyber Security is between the following parties of the Tonga National CERT and CERT Australia.
Tonga National CERT is the First National Computer Emergency Response Team in the Pacific Islands located in the Kingdom of Tonga and is the point of contact in Government for cyber security issues. Tonga National CERT provides advice and support on cyber threats and vulnerabilities to the owners and operators of Tongan critical infrastructure and other systems of national interest.
CERT Australia is an operational entity within the Commonwealth of Australia’s Attorney-General’s Department. CERT Australia provides Australian private sector organisations with information and assistance to help them better protect their information and communications technology infrastructure from cyber threats and vulnerabilities.
Due to the nature of emerging cyber threats, specifically cyber-crime which is borderless in nature, Tonga National CERT and CERT Australia desire to form a strategic collaboration so that both organisations can share information and collaborate in matters pertaining to those threats.
The parties have a common goal in establishing and strengthening collaborative efforts related to cyber security and computer emergency response.
ENDS
Issued by the: Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change & Communications.