Ambassador Caroline Kennedy — Message for the Boston Global Forum

Dec 15, 2016Global Citizenship Education

“Global Citizenship Education in Cyber Security” Conference

I was pleased to learn from Governor Dukakis that the Boston Global Forum was convening this conference focused on cyber security.

There is a growing recognition of the importance of cyber policy to our national security, foreign policy, economy, values, and way of life. President Obama’s 2016 Presidential Policy Directive 41 on U.S. Cyber Incident Coordination marks a major milestone toward ensuring whole-of-government cooperation in case of significant cyber incidents.

We recognize that cybersecurity threats are not constrained by geographic or institutional boundaries – and thus collaboration and information sharing are essential. For this reason, I congratulate Japan on establishing the Group of Seven ( G- 7) Ise Shima Cyber Group during its leadership of the G- 7 this year. Looking beyond government, our private sector and civil society partners also have a critical role to play in helping to ensure that cyberspace remains open, interoperable, secure, and reliable.

I hope that your discussions at the conference offer constructive ways forward on this important issue.

Caroline Kennedy
United States Ambassador to Japan