The Cybersecurity Working Group of ARPEL carried out the second edition of the seminar "Cybersecurity in Critical Infrastructures, Risks, Opportunities and Priorities."

The event, held October 9-10 at the Catholic University of Argentina, was supported by the Organization of American States (OAS), YPF -ARPEL member company and member of the Cybersecurity Working Group- the Ministry of Modernization of the Presidency of the Nation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Argentina.

This second edition attracted more than 200 participants representing 48 companies and 16 state agencies and institutions.

At present, industrial cybersecurity has become very important for companies due to the increase in cybercrimes and the volume of data they manage. It is essential that large, small and medium-sized companies establish an appropriate strategy to protect the assets of the company.

Hernán Vázquez, IT Manager of ARPEL, highlighted the importance of implementing a common strategy among governments and public and private companies to protect critical infrastructures and to promote cooperation and exchange of best practices.

On the other hand, he placed emphasis on the organization by ARPEL of awareness workshops for senior management in order to bring the subject to the agenda of the board of directors of companies and on the training courses for technicians.

At the conference "Corporate cybersecurity, captivating the interest of the board of directors," Jeimy Cano, Associate Professor of the School of Management at the University of Rosario, said that it has always been a concern how to get the board of directors involved in the issue of cybersecurity.

Cano said that there are three aspects which are key in this respect: firstly, understanding the view of the board on the subject, i.e. what the board members understand as cybersecurity; secondly, what the questions of the board members are, i.e., what their concerns about the issue are, and thirdly, engaging the board of directors in the details of the cybersecurity strategy.

The expert clarified that these three elements help the board understand, on the one hand, gaps, on the other hand, what management of the organization is, and, as the third point, verify that their views match the reality.

Cano stressed the importance of capitalizing on lessons learned. "The lessons learned are basically developed around three questions: What are we doing today that is worthwhile and creates value?, What are the things we are going to stop doing as they are definitely useless?, and What new thing that we had not done in the past will we try?, “ he said.

In his conclusion, he stated, "Cybersecurity must be a competitive advantage, and building digital confidence, dealing with adverse events, and above all, digital literacy are necessary."

Maximilliam Kon, General Director of WisePlant; Jeimy Cano; Gabriel Faifman, Senior Manager of Technical Product and Director of Strategic Programs of BHGE; Claudio Caracciolo, Chief Security Ambassador of Eleven Path; Diego Zuluaga, Information Security Specialit of ISACA; and Brian O´Durnin, Information Security Manager of YPF participated in the closing table.

The event was sponsored by Cytric, KPMG, ABB, Baker Hughes, Consulting Services, Deloitte, Fortinet, WisePlant, Honeywell, and Telefónica, with the support of AON, the Industrial Cybersecurity Center, and Willis Towers Watson.

In mid 2018, ARPEL and the OAS signed an MOU in order to continue to train professionals in the region and be facilitators of cooperation in the region.