Delegations from 26 countries are meeting this week at the Commonwealth Cybersecurity Forum 2015 taking place on 22 – 24 April 2015 in London, United Kingdom to discuss growing cyber threats and their wider economic and social impact on government, business and citizens.

Participants include communications ministers and their advisors, security and communications regulatory agencies, international organisations, research institutions, academia, network operators, service providers, IT firms, and civil society organisations.

Convened five times since 2010, the CTO Cybersecurity Forum has previously focused on areas including national cybersecurity strategies, cyber governance models, and critical information infrastructure protection. This year’s event focuses specifically on threats to the digital economy.

“I am delighted to see so many country delegations and other organisations at this year’s event which, unlike our previous events, is putting emphasis on social and economic development”, said Professor Tim Unwin, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation.

As in previous years, participants at this year’s event renewed calls for greater international collaboration, more effective in-country multistakeholder collaboration and more comprehensive capacity building, but also greater public education on cyber hygiene.

“Cybersecurity, especially through effective setting up and collaboration between national computer emergency response teams, is important for the global economy and we see this event as one important effort to bring all stakeholders together to make cyberspace safer for all”, said Rosheen Awotar-Mauree, Cybersecurity Officer at the International Telecommunication Union.

Krishna Oolun, Executive Director of the Information and Communication Technology Authority of Mauritius where efforts were made to reflect cybersecurity efforts with the island’s licensing framework for operators, said that “whilst the speed with which countries take action against cybercrime is critical to resolving cybercrime cases and also to act as a deterrent to potential cybercriminals, leadership buy-in at the highest level in all countries is a critical success factors to effectively securing cyberspace of all.”

Key topics to be addressed over the three-day event include: Commonwealth approach to cyber governance and cybersecurity; International and Commonwealth cooperation; standardising cybersecurity; Data protection and privacy and protecting property and people online