V4 Cybersecurity Conference at the Google Office in Washington, DC

17 marca, 2017

On March 7 the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, within the framework of Poland’s presidency of the Visegrad Group, organized the conference, Safety and Business – Cybersecurity as a force driving innovation and entrepreneurship which was held at the Google Office in Washington, DC. The event was attended by representatives from the world of politics, business and academia from Poland, Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia as well as the United States.

The conference was opened by Ambassador Piotr Wilczek who pointed out that closer international cooperation is required in order to confront the challenges cybersecurity poses. Regional groups such as the V4 offer a dynamic innovative ecosystem and a great source of IT development noted Ambassador Wilczek.

Rudolph Giuliani, former mayor of New York and current chairman of the White House Cybersecurity Taskforce emphasized, that one of the most important elements in combating cybercrimes on such a large scale is ever greater involvement of the private sector. “The main goal is to gather information about threats, reacting early to cyber incidents and preparing responses which aim at preventing attacks in the future” explained Giuliani.

Also present at the conference was Poland’s Deputy Minister of Development Jadwiga Emilewicz who noted that Poland is ready to cooperation in the cybersecurity sphere, especially in the fields of academics and business. The development of information technology, including ones for combating cyberattacks, are an important element for growth in Poland, not only in the IT sector but the whole economy.

The main focus of the conference was to present Europe’s Central and Eastern Region as a dynamic innovative ecosystem containing attractive investment possibilities, as well as a readiness to offer US partners technology and know-how in the field of cybersecurity. The dynamic growth of the ICT sector in Poland as well as in the other countries in our region have resulted in untapped potential in the relations between our region and the United States.

The conference was one element of the program of the Polish government delegation headed by Minister Emilewicz, which included representatives of Polish firms and startups. The delegation also took part in meetings with government officials as well as with representatives of US accelerators, firms and non-governmental organization involved in cybersecurity.