DILI, 15 april 2024 (TATOLI) – Minister of Transportation and Communication, Miguel Marques Manetelu, said Timor-Leste needs a national action plan before implementing the Cyber Security Law.
“We need to have a national action plan and then we can move on to implementing the law. The law should be drafted by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, but for now, we don’t have it,” the Minister of Transport and Communications told Tatoli in Dili.
He said Timor-Leste also needs a cybercrime law, which must be prepared by the Attorney General under the authority of the Ministry of Justice.
A cybersecurity law comprises directives that safeguard information technology and computer systems with the purpose of forcing companies and organizations to protect their systems and information from cyberattacks like viruses, worms, Trojan horses, phishing, denial of service (DOS) attacks, unauthorized access (stealing intellectual property or confidential information) and control system attacks.
According to Venâncio Pinto, Executive Director of the Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (TIC Timor I, P), all countries need to have a cybersecurity law to protect their citizens from cyberattacks.
“We are currently working with the Secretariat of Social Communications (SEKOMS) so that Timor-Leste can get Google AdSense, and YouTube Partner Program. We must also have laws on cybernetics, data security, e-commerce, and online payments,” he said.
The Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, to which the U.S. is a signatory, defines cybercrime as a wide range of malicious activities, including the illegal interception of data, system interferences that compromise network integrity, and availability and copyright infringements.
Journalist: Jose Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
