December 12. The Electronic Government Centre organized the second session of the Legal Clinic within e-Governance on the theme “International standards for information security: legal aspects”. The event was attended by international experts, representatives of ministries and other governmental institutions.
The participants discussed the connection of international information security standards at national level.

World Bank international consultant, Dr. Duncan Hine, spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of international standards: “There's a lot of confusion on the use of a standard. Standard implementation does not guarantee security a hundred percent. There are rules written in a purely technical way, there are general rules that do not impose certain activities. In Western Europe there are plenty of companies that can provide quality consultancy in the field. International standards have created more favorable conditions for cooperation between countries. However, it must be carefully applied to ensure its relevance for each country.”

In his turn, Veaceslav Puscasu, Information Security manager at the Electronic Government Center explained that “In the world there are two schools of information security standards – the American one, which is more “accurate” and the European one, which is more “liberal”. When deciding to apply a certain rule, it is recommended to consider the equivalent standards developed by both schools.”

The participants came up with concrete recommendations for a better implementation of information security policies in public institutions.

The Electronic Government Center will organize regular meetings of Legal Clinics. The meetings will take place at intervals agreed with the participants. The Electronic Government Center assumes the role of organizer and moderator and guarantees to summarize the conclusions during the discussions and to inform the decision makers on the discussed topics.

The initiative to organize Legal Clinics is part of the Electronic Government Center (EGC) to promote active dialogue and professionals’ involvement in the improvement process of the legal framework.

The first Legal Clinic was launched in October 2012, during the Government Information Security Week.