The Papua New Guinea Minister for ICT Hon. Timothy Masiu would like to announce that he has written to the CEO of NICTA, and the National Intelligence Organization (NIO) Director-General to ensure that all licensees of the National Information and Communication Technology Authority (NICTA), particularly internet service providers, cloud services providers, and gateway providers have been licensed together with a security assessment provided by the NIO Director-General.
“Upholding the laws of this land and the preservation of the national security of Papua New Guinea is core government business and this extends to the ICT sector in Papua New Guinea. As Minister responsible, I am, and we are all reminded to take heed of the provisions of the National Intelligence Organization Act 1984 under sections 38 and 39; and the National Information and Communications Authority Act 2009 under section 72. I have a ministerial responsibility to determine whether members of boards and management of internet, cloud and gateway service providers should have a right of controlled access to information and places relevant to my functions and responsibilities, only after I receive a security assessment from the Director-General of the NIO, and if the assessment is not adverse. On the other hand, it is mandatory for a NICTA licensee to co-operate with the NIO Director-General during the security assessment.”
Minister Masiu says while the Marape-Basil Government welcomes foreign direct investment into the ICT sector in Papua New Guinea, we as a government are also intent on taking steps to preserve national security.
“Security breaches in the cyberspace and to security of information are a constant and require us to be watchful and pragmatic. I want to make sure that we know exactly who we are dealing with and what they are doing in our country whether they are conducting business online or offline. We cannot just patrol the physical borders at sea and on the land. The cyberspace is borderless. We must develop and maintain and continue to improve our national security assessment systems and processes so that our government’s digital infrastructures, systems, and information of our citizens are protected and used only for the benefit of our people.”
Minister Masiu has applauded NICTA licensees that continue to comply with national security requirements and asks that they continue to comply with the laws and regulations of Papua New Guinea.
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