Önal spoke at the 19th International Information Security and Cryptology Conference held at the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) with the theme "Cyber Wars in the New World Order".
Önal stated that power was measured by land, steel and oil in the 20th century, and by data, algorithm, calculation capacity and who controls them in the 21st century, and gave information about the recent cyber attacks in the world.
Reminding that attackers who infiltrated hundreds of cooling systems in several supermarket chains in France broke the cold chain by remotely changing the temperature of the refrigerators, Önal said:
"There is no locked screen, no ransomware or ransomware, no ransom note. Just a remote, silent intervention into a country's food supply chain. This has become a matter of security, not of a computer, but of the table.
The picture is not much different on the digital front. Approximately $768 million was stolen in crypto asset attacks in September, making September the worst month of 2024. The bulk of the losses came from two incidents. In one of these, we all saw that the traces led to a state. In other words, cybercrime and geopolitical power struggle are now intertwined. "This is no longer a cyber incident, it is a strategic reality."
"Data is not just a technical element"
Önal stated that from a traditional perspective, cyber security was seen as the security of servers, networks and software, but today this understanding is insufficient, and pointed out that cyber security has now gone beyond computer and system rooms.
Emphasizing that Türkiye has taken important steps towards digital sovereignty, Önal said:
"The first Cyber Security Board after the establishment of the Cyber Security Presidency was convened on May 5, 2024, and the second one will be held in the coming days. The Cyber Security Board prioritized the protection of critical infrastructures and capacity building with domestic and national technologies. In the same meeting, data sovereignty was discussed as a separate topic. It was emphasized that data is not only a technical element, but also a strategic value. In other words, what is being talked about is not a technology choice, but a state policy.
The field of digital government has also been added to the job description of the Cyber Security Presidency. Authorities for artificial intelligence applications in the public sector were also gathered under the umbrella of the Cyber Security Directorate. This means that cyber security, digital transformation and artificial intelligence are not discussed at separate tables, but at the same table."
Önal underlined that cyber security should be at the top of the agenda of boards of directors, ministries and rectorates.
"No system is 100 percent secure"
Pointing out the necessity of sharing threat intelligence, organizing joint exercises and establishing a rapid information flow, Önal said, "No system is 100 percent secure, we know that. The question is 'Will we be attacked?' No, we will definitely stop by. "How quickly will we recover if we are attacked? That should be the real question." he said.
Önal stated that investments should be made in detection, intervention and recovery capabilities as well as prevention, and underlined that redundancy, crisis drills, zero trust architecture and post-quantum encryption plans are no longer a luxury, but a necessity.
Stating that critical infrastructures as well as physical borders must be protected in the new world order, Önal said, "The strong states of the future will not only be those that produce technology, but also those that can manage technology with their own will, survive in the face of crises and make their own decisions in the digital world." he said.
"Türkiye is at a good point in the field of cyber security"
Mustafa Alkan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Information Security Association, also explained that they have undertaken important work to develop domestic and national solutions for the cyber security sector that Türkiye needs.
Stating that Türkiye has reached a good point in the field of cyber security, Alkan stated that they are extremely confident that with the establishment of the Cyber Security Presidency, what needs to be done in this field will be carried out effectively.
METU Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Yozgatlıgil also stated that the university has increased its capacity in the field of cyber security and cryptology and said that they want to use their knowledge in both Ankara and TRNC in projects.
Stating that they have trained qualified human resources through undergraduate and graduate programs and are preparing for the future in fields such as post-quantum cryptography, Yozgatlıgil noted that they continue to produce domestic technologies in cooperation with the public and industry.
