A/70/172 document outlining the State’s policy in the area of cybersecurity, including strategic goals and guiding principles, and laying down action points and tasks. Cybersecurity is one of the main priorities of the State ’s security policy, and the protection of cyberspace is considered as important for national security as the protection of land, water and airspace. A further step in institutionalizing information security was the establishment of the Data Exchange Agency of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, in 2010, as a central government entity responsible for the development and implementation of information and cybersecurity policies and standards, tasked in particular with: • Adopting and implementating information security policies and standards in the public sector and critical infrastructure • Carrying out a cybersecurity mandate though the creation of a national computer emergency response team • Providing consultancy services in information and cybersecurity, performing information security audits and providing cybersecurity services • Carrying out awareness-raising activities on information and cybersecurity The legal and regulatory framework of Georgia on information security is composed of the Information Security Act and its supplementary subnormative acts adopted between 2011 and 2012. Major concepts used in Georgian legal acts detailing information security policies derive from the 27000 series of standards of the International Organization for Standardization. The law underlines certain rights and obligations for critical infrastructures in the process of implementing information security policies and lays down cooperation mechanisms with national governmental computer emergency response teams. Georgia has taken important steps in building international cooperation and sharing accumulated knowledge with its partners. A notable example is a number of bilateral cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding between the Data Exchange Agency and European Union Military Staff (from Austria, Estonia, Poland, etc.) as well as neighbouring countries (Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Republic of Moldova, Turkey, etc.). Georgia acknowledges the increased importance of regional and international cooperation mechanisms in order to address information security challenges. In that perspective, much effort should be directed to extend the number of international events dedicated to those topics of high importance, increase the level of trust with major stakeholders, and continue to work on strategic doctrines and legal concepts with the engagement of the international community. Germany [Original: English] [27 May 2015] An open, free, secure and reliable Internet offers great opportunities for economic growth, social development and scientific progress, as well as for the promotion of democracy, good governance, and the rule of law. At the same time, concerns are growing about risks for international security emanating from cyberspace. Recent months have seen an increase in malicious software activities 6/14 15-12333