Inter-American Cybersecurity Efforts Overall, OAS Member States have shown unity on cybersecurity issues. While the European Union (EU) adopted a Cybersecurity Strategy in February 2013, OAS Member States unanimously adopted the Comprehensive Inter-American Cybersecurity Strategy nine years earlier in 2004. As the threat landscape and government efforts evolved, they also approved a declaration on “Strengthening Cybersecurity in the Americas” in March 2012. Adopting these documents proves that while much work still needs to be done and states espouse differing opinions on how to best achieve cybersecurity, strong political consensus exists in the Western Hemisphere, which helps facilitate regional cooperation and information sharing. Working with and through the OAS, Member States have been able to reach an agreement on a difficult topic. OAS resolutions and declarations have engendered a collaborative atmosphere, allowing the General Secretariat of the OAS to provide technical assistance and improve member states’ cybersecurity on many levels. Case Studies Argentina The Argentinean government established the National Office of Information Technology (ONTI) to assess and implement a system of modernization and efficiently use digital resources. Through this office, the Argentine Computer Emergency Response Team (ArCERT) was created in 2005, making Argentina one of the first countries in Latin America to operate a national CSIRT. Early on, efforts focused on digital inclusion, universal access provision, and raising cybersecurity awareness. To mitigate emerging threats to ICS, in 2012 Argentina created the ICIC, or National Program of Critical Information Infrastructure and Cybersecurity, which is specifically tasked with protecting the country’s critical infrastructure. The ONTI is currently working on the second draft of the National Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection Plan 2013–2015. This Plan is based on four pillars: awareness raising, securing digital assets, promoting judicial and academic understanding of information security and critical information infrastructure, and promoting lasting security partnerships between the government, businesses, and civil society organizations. Colombia In mid-February 2012, Colombia led “Operation Unmask,” a multinational operation aimed to take down a ring of transnational cybercriminals and hacktivists that was launched in response to persistent attacks on critical infrastructures in Chile and Colombia. The operation was notable since it depended on collaboration between incident response teams and law enforcement bodies from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Spain. Indeed, raids were simultaneously carried out at 40 sites in 15 different cities. In total, Operation Unmask led to the arrest of 25 criminals and the capture of 250 computing devices, along with numerous stolen credit cards and cash.11 11 http://www.interpol.int/News-and-media/News-media-releases/2012/PR014 PAGE 20 | Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses