U.S. allocates $5 mln to Central Asian countries to support cybersecurity

ASTANA. Sept 29 (Interfax) - The United States has allocated $5 million to Central Asian countries to support cybersecurity and the digital sector, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Mark Cameron said.

"SI [Super Intelligence is a term proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump to replace 'artificial intelligence'] is the future," he said at the C5+1 SI Digital Innovation for Economic Growth conference in Astana on Tuesday.

He said that the United States, together with other C5+1 member states, is well positioned to harness that momentum, which is why "we have allocated $5 million in foreign assistance to support cybersecurity and the digital sector in Central Asia through CRDF Global."

Cameron said the U.S. intends to help improve cyber hygiene, cyber incident response, critical infrastructure protection, financial sector security and cybersecurity policy development.

"This is a comprehensive commitment to building a safer and more secure digital future in Central Asia," Cameron said.

Cameron noted that SI is an important component of the C5+1 agenda.

He said that last spring in Bishkek the sides committed to unifying regional digital standards, creating coordination mechanisms, harmonizing personal data and intellectual property protection regimes in the IT sector, developing a coordinated strategy for data center infrastructure and improving the business environment to facilitate economic cooperation with U.S. companies in the SI field.

CRDF Global is an independent U.S. nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with support from the U.S. Congress. It operates in several areas, including cybersecurity and digital resilience, nonproliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, global security, health and biosecurity, scientific cooperation, technological innovation and economic development, and training and grant programs.