Turkey's 'white hackers' to work for cybersecurity

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Turkish Technology Minister Ergün says the world’s prominent software firms is working with white hackers. AA photo

Turkey will train “white hackers” to protect digital data in the public and private sectors, Technology Minister Nihat Ergün said yesterday.

Ergün stated that experts trained in the Turkish Standards Institute (TSE) would work for country’s cyber security, declaring that a “new era” in the field had begun.

He said that while science and technology was advancing, it unfortunately created an environment for an “anti-sector” for every sector.

All public institutions, local governments, universities and private sector businesses in Turkey were increasingly using information and communication technologies, Ergün said, adding that this situation required work on the security of these systems.

“Carrying public services to the digital environment provides fast and qualified services to citizens. But, we need to take steps about the security of public web sites and digital services and ensuring cyber security. It is very important that all institutions make regular security tests in their systems to protect against attacks and leaks from outside,” he added.

Ergün said the world’s prominent software companies and private sector companies were working with “white hackers,” also called as “white hat hackers,” to protect their systems against such leaks. The white hackers’ main mission is to determine the vulnerabilities of a given system and notify these vulnerabilities to the system administrator.

“The firms and persons that make leak tests will be trained by a public institution, the TSE, for the first time. It means that we will train white hackers who will protect digital data in public and private sectors. We will select the most professional individuals in this field and the experts trained at the TSE will obtain a certificate and work for Turkey’s cyber security,” he said.

The TSE Software Documentation Directorate has created a trainee program, which will determine which qualifications the companies and people that will make leak tests should hold. While the program will enable the companies and the people that will make security tests to reach a certain level of professionalism, it will also present the companies that will make these tests with the criteria for choosing companies and people.