Remarks: National Cyber Director Coker at LATAM CISO
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
September 12, 2024
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Good morning.
Thank you Jordana for your introduction. AWS is a great partner.
Thank you to Belisario and Digi Americas Alliance for bringing us all together.
It is a privilege and a pleasure to be speaking in front of such a distinguished group of cyber leaders and trusted partners from Latin America and the Caribbean. Your work is essential to protecting the shared values that our citizens cherish.
Because we are living in a time of unprecedented opportunity. A time where the choices we make will shape the digital ecosystem for decades to come. President Biden has called this “a decisive decade.” And, to no surprise, I agree with him. We have a rare chance to collectively architect the systems that we want. Systems ensuring our mutual economic opportunity and regional security.
In the U.S., under the leadership of Ambassador Telles and led by the International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy, we can see those efforts. The United States is building towards a digital solidarity. A concept in which individuals, organizations, and Nations collaborate to achieve shared goals in the digital sphere.
In the context of the United States, digital solidarity suggests a collective effort to strengthen unity through digital means, focusing on three areas:
- Collaboration: The willingness to work together is vital in leveraging digital technologies for the common good, which includes innovation, security, and equitable access to digital resources.
- Mutual Support: By providing mutual aid and supporting partners – both domestically and internationally – to enhance their digital capabilities and foster a more inclusive digital landscape.
- Capacity Building: Assisting partners in developing their digital infrastructure and skills ensures a more connected and resilient global community.
Now, achieving digital solidarity requires a shared commitment to ethical practices, open communication, and investment in digital education and infrastructure.
In this effort, we seek like-minded partners who envision a future that is more equitable, safer, more resilient, and increasingly interconnected.
We also seek like-minded partners who want to step into the future together.
And why do we do this? Because our threat landscape is constantly evolving, and we must do this to outpace those who are willing to do us harm.
In May, our office – ONCD – delivered a first-of-its-kind report to the President, the National Security Advisor, and Congress: the 2024 Report on the Cybersecurity Posture of the United States.
In our Report on, the Cybersecurity Posture, we outlined trends, and enduring cybersecurity challenges. Notably, the strategic environment in 2023 was characterized by complexity, interconnectivity, and competition. These trends will continue to shape our collective future.
The Report also laid out five threats: the evolving risks to critical infrastructure, the persistence of cybercrime and ransomware, the increasingly complex supply chain exploitation, the growth of commercial spyware, and the power of artificial intelligence.
The disturbing trends of these threats are not a U.S. challenge alone – all of our Nations face these threats: hence our call for and the necessity for digital solidarity.
Here in the Americas, and in this idyllic Nation, we are not removed from the digital battlefield. We are on the front lines.
In 2022, Costa Rica faced one of the largest ransomware incidents in its history when the malicious Conti ransomware group targeted Government systems. The scale and persistence of the attack had rarely been seen before and the actors demanded a higher ransom as time progressed.
However, Costa Rica’s response was decisive and exemplified determination and resilience in the face of adversity.
Costa Rica refused to pay the ransom and declared a state of emergency, mobilizing every tool at its disposal to combat the threat and bring those systems back online. Technical measures were established and security recommendations were levied across the Government, and significant work was undertaken to further protect digital infrastructure while creating a robust collaborative approach to safeguarding critical systems.
Here, we can see a response that demonstrated Costa Rica’s commitment to safeguarding public services and digital sovereignty. This response was a reminder that even in the face of adversity, we can emerge stronger and more united as we prepare together for the digital challenges of the future.
And yet we know this story is not unique.
Fortinet reported that in 2020, cyber attacks in Latin America and the Caribbean increased by 600%. During the first half of 2022, there were over 130 billion cyber attack attempts registered in Latin America.
We face similar challenges in the United States. Last year’s FBI Internet Crime Report found a 22% rise in cybercrime – a figure that is likely to be higher since not all companies report attacks.
As we face these challenges, it is important to remember that cybersecurity is not merely a technology-focused issue; it is an international priority that requires digital solidarity and collaboration in building a safe, equitable, and prosperous cyber landscape.
A bold proposition is laid, a notion that as a global community of like-minded Nations, we must pursue our shared vision for cyberspace to counter threats to our shared ecosystem. In ONCD’s third year, we are taking on many of the hard problems that we’ll discuss a little later.
While we have made significant progress on many fronts, I want to underscore that there is still work to do, and that no one Nation or partner can tackle these challenges alone.
The NCS and the International Cyberspace Digital Policy Strategy vision where partners share a willingness to work together to achieve common goals, stand together in building capacity, and provide mutual support.
A vision that recognizes that all who use digital technologies in a rights-respecting manner are more secure, more resilient, more self-determining, and prosperous when they work together to shape the international environment and innovate at the technological edge.
The partnership between the Americas, particularly Latin American and Caribbean countries, is crucial in shaping a shared vison for cyberspace. As close neighbors, our regions are bound by a history of shared values and deep economic ties, fostering cooperation in cyberspace governance.
This collaboration focuses on addressing mutual challenges like cybersecurity, digital infrastructure development, and promoting an open, secure, and inclusive digital environment. By working together, Latin American and Caribbean Nations contribute to a collective effort on cyberspace and ensure that it benefits everyone across the Americas.
Many Latin American and Caribbean countries have already shown significant leadership on the international stage by joining global coalitions, such as the Declaration for the Future of the Internet, which unites a diverse range of stakeholders to affirm a common democratic vision for the Internet; and the International Counter-Ransomware Initiative, which coordinates an international response to fight against ransomware and protect our citizens and businesses from cybercrime.
In addition to these multilateral initiatives, the United States understands the importance of working together bilaterally, with trusted partners, and the critical need for cyber capacity-building and the securing of digital infrastructure. In the aftermath of Conti, we have made significant progress with our Costa Rican partners.
In addition to the ongoing efforts, the U.S. Export-Import Bank, is financing $300 million in grants to support Costa Rica’s 5G transition, in which trusted vendors and cybersecurity are top-of-mind.
These initiatives exemplify the different kinds of problems we can solve when we work together – with Latin American and Caribbean partners in the public and private sector to secure our digital landscape and build digital solidarity.
Today, I call on each of us — whether we represent the Government, together with the private sector, or another critical stakeholder group — to join together in pursuing a shared vision of a resilient, safe, and equitable digital future.
