The Cyber Security Summit 2016, which was held at the Hong Kong Science Park from May 16 to 18, concluded successfully. Co-organised by the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) of the Force and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, the milestone event had raised local awareness of cyber security and strengthened co-operation among over 600 law enforcement officers, industry leaders and cyber security professionals from around the world.

The theme of the first two days of the summit was "Knowing the Cyber Security Landscape and Matching Your Gear to Effectively Address Cyber Threats". Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Wong Chi-hung said in his welcoming remarks at the opening ceremony, "We hope that all participants can acquire useful and up-to-date information in relation to cyber security from this summit. It also provides a chance for improving their awareness, resilience and overall competitiveness, so as to ensure that the industry is fully prepared for the cyber security challenges ahead."

Enhance international police co-operation

One of the keynote speakers was the Executive Director of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation, Mr Noboru Nakatani. He highlighted the importance of international police co-operation in combating cyber crime. Afterwards, cyber security experts and industry leaders from Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, Thailand and the United States (US) shared their knowledge and experiences on various cyber security issues.

Delivering closing remarks on the second day of the summit, Assistant Commissioner (Crime) (ACP CRM) Chung Siu-yeung said, "We have learned more about the behaviour of hackers and criminals in the cyber space and the latest advice for enhancing cyber security."

The third day of the summit was divided into two parts. The CSTCB invited 30 local government officials and 50 law enforcement officers from different jurisdictions to attend a roundtable session whilst Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) held a parallel session on financial technology. The Head of the CSTCB, Chan Wing-on, stressed in his opening remarks at the roundtable session that cyber crime and cyber attacks were borderless and no agency could combat them alone. Therefore, the CSTCB organised the roundtable session to facilitate co-operation of law enforcement officers from different jurisdictions, local government officials and industry regulators.

Platform for sharing best practices

The roundtable session covered experience sharing by the US Department of Homeland Security on the protection of critical infrastructures, a case study by the Netherlands' National High Tech Crime Unit on its latest cyber crime investigative strategy, and the Korean National Police Agency's initiatives on cyber security management and cyber crime prevention. The participants also engaged in exchanging their best practices, experiences and insights for safeguarding cyber security and exploring opportunities for co-operation in training and enforcement.

On the other hand, HKMA's event attracted elite speakers from financial institutions, regulatory bodies and technology solution providers to discuss how to raise the resilience of the financial and banking sector in preventing and defending cyber attacks. ACP CRM Mr Chung was invited to give an opening speech at which he highlighted the capabilities of the Force in safeguarding cyber security and fighting cyber crime. Meanwhile, Chief Executive of HKMA Mr Chan Tak-lam announced the "Cybersecurity Fortification Initiatives" which aimed at strengthening Hong Kong's position as a global financial centre.