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After winning the Outstanding Security Performance Award (OSPA) for the best Romanian cybersecurity initiative in 2020 and being a finalist in the Cyber Outstanding Security Performance Awards (Cyber OSPAs) in 2021, the Romanian Association for Information Security Assurance (RAISA) won the Cyber Outstanding Security Performance Awards (Cyber OSPAs) in 2022, at the Outstanding Cyber Security Partnership category.
The winners of the Cyber Outstanding Security Performance Awards (Cyber OSPAs) 2022 were announced on Thursday, 15th December, at a gala awards event held in London, England. The partnership between the U.S. Embassy in Romania and the Romanian Association for Information Security Assurance won the Outstanding Cyber Security Partnership category.
The partnership between the U.S. Embassy in Romania and the Romanian Association for Information Security Assurance started as an initiative to strengthen cyber capacity and cybersecurity education. This partnership brought together law enforcement, public institutions, international private companies, universities, and NGOs, all working together to deliver training activities, develop guidelines, and organize conferences to raise awareness, embody the cybersecurity culture, and protect people and institutions from cybercrime.
The partnership has a vital component in education and training activities. Various online training activities were developed for public institutions, private companies, and academia, to raise cybersecurity awareness and improve the skills of criminal justice authorities and the private sector in fighting cybercrime. The courses’ topics involved open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools and methods, cybersecurity best practices, cyber threats and malware investigation, cryptocurrencies, online money laundering, and electronic evidence analysis. Law enforcement, public institutions, private companies, and universities joined this initiative and helped by promoting the training activities and sending experts to present methods, tools, and relevant case studies for participants.
The partnership focuses on promoting and disseminating cybersecurity research. The International Conference on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime (IC3), a scientific conference organized by the Romanian Association for Information Security Assurance, was promoted within this partnership. The purpose of this scientific conference is to encourage the exchange of ideas about the evolution of cyberspace, information security challenges, and new facets of the phenomenon of cybercrime. Students, researchers, professors, and experts from public institutions and private companies chose this framework to present their research in the cybersecurity field. The proceedings of this scientific conference are indexed in international databases.
https://proceedings.cybercon.ro/
To raise the level of awareness, embody the cybersecurity culture, and share best practices in fighting cybercrime, an international conference was organized within this partnership, entitled CyberCon Romania. Experts from the European Union and the United States agencies, public institutions, private companies, and universities had the opportunity to share knowledge, perspectives, and highlight synergies between different areas of expertise: developing cyber defence and cyber resilience, international cooperation for fighting cybercrime, cybersecurity challenges and opportunities, research and development on cybersecurity, and cybersecurity education and career development.
Two guides were developed by the Romanian Association for Information Security Assurance with the help of the U.S. Embassy in Romania, to raise the cybersecurity culture and fight fake news. The Cybersecurity Guide (ISBN: 978-973-0-33645-0) contains 18 sections on cybersecurity best practices, and the OSINT for Analyzing Fake News Guide (ISBN: 978-973-0-37583-1) contains 9 sections with OSINT techniques and tools for analyzing fake news.
 
Cybersecurity Guide: https://cyberlearning.ro/cybersecurity-guide/
OSINT Guide: https://cyberlearning.ro/osint-for-analyzing-fake-news/
The latest initiative is CyberClub Romania – a community of students, experts, and organizations, with the goal of analyzing cybersecurity challenges and opportunities. CyberClub Romania provides the opportunity for cybersecurity experts from public institutions, private companies, universities, and NGOs to share their knowledge and experiences and guide students and people interested in building a cybersecurity carrier. Members can discover information about new actions, research projects, training activities, master programs, conferences, and job opportunities in this field.
The partnership between the U.S. Embassy in Romania and the Romanian Association for Information Security Assurance (RAISA) continues to grow by involving more public institutions, international private companies, universities, and NGOs, all working together to raise the cybersecurity culture and create a safer and more secure cyberspace.
