Türkiye, working on developing domestic and national products and technologies for the cybersecurity ecosystem, is preparing to undertake important projects with the Cybersecurity Presidency it has established within this scope.
As the country continues to develop policies that will strengthen its digital economy, the Cybersecurity Presidency affiliated with the Turkish Presidency was established at the beginning of 2025 to boost the nation’s cybersecurity capacity.
Meanwhile, this week, the Cybersecurity Law proposal is set to be discussed at the Turkish Parliament.
Ertan Barut, chairperson of the Turkish Software Council of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), stated that the domestic cybersecurity sector, which is in a constant state of development and growth, has assumed the role of an “engine” in Türkiye’s digital economy.
Aiming to take its policies in the field of cybersecurity to a higher level, authorities established the Cybersecurity Presidency earlier this year to assume responsibility for eliminating all kinds of cyber risks and to lead the development of domestic and national technologies in this field. Thus, Türkiye's cybersecurity studies, which are currently carried out by different institutions, will be coordinated under the roof of a single institution.
Speaking to daily Sabah, Barut explained that the solutions in this sector trigger the development of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructures and data analytics while also increasing the efficiency, competitiveness, and decision-making speed of businesses and public institutions.
He noted that the cybersecurity sector, which grows by an average of 15% to 18% every year in Türkiye accounts for the employment of around 50,000 qualified workforce and provides services to millions of users. Barut stated that the sector is not only limited to the function of "preventing cyberattacks" but also as the leverage that paves the way for a high-tech economy.
"Thanks to domestic products and services, while external dependency and import costs decrease, institutions can access more flexible, cost-effective solutions that can be adapted to local needs," he explained.
"Export data for 2023 also indicates that our cybersecurity exports increased by approximately 25%, which coincides with the intense demand from markets such as the Middle East, Gulf countries and Eastern Europe," he added.
Elaborating further, Barut said that domestic cybersecurity solutions revitalize R&D activities in areas such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics and software engineering, adding that this situation increases Türkiye's technology-based growth rate in the long term and ensures the launch of new products with high added value.
He emphasized that cybersecurity plays a "catalyst" role in both defense and civil fields and makes a strong contribution to Türkiye's high-tech economic model.
"Institutions save money thanks to the decline in foreign license and maintenance costs, and they also gain flexibility by receiving rapid support from local companies. Thus, general cost efficiency increases, while competitiveness also increases," he said.
Barut said that if the cybersecurity ecosystem is supported correctly, Türkiye carries the potential to reach the position of a "role model" both in the domestic market and in the international arena.
He also touched upon its relation with critical infrastructure and mentioned that the rate of use of domestic cybersecurity technologies, especially in defense projects, "is gradually increasing," thus curbing the dependency on international software.
"This both allows us to keep control of our sensitive defense data and contributes to the retention of sectoral resources within the country," he said.
Furthermore, Barut also evaluated the advantages of using domestic solutions, highlighting primarily that less time is needed to respond to attacks.
"While cyberattacks increased by up to 60% in Türkiye in 2022-2023, it was determined that the time required to respond to attacks by institutions using domestic products and services has shortened and significantly reduced the damage experienced. This means that in the event of a possible crisis, instead of waiting for external support, we can respond much more quickly with our own experts and our own technology," he noted.
He also said, that as a sector, they consider the establishment of the Cybersecurity Presidency as "a historic step," adding: "We attach importance to the establishment of a 'central coordination' structure, especially in terms of national security and the protection of critical infrastructures."
"With this structure and the legal regulations to be made along with it, our country's defense capacity will increase, cyber threats will be monitored in coordination with the civil ecosystem, and thus, there will be a basis where the public and private sectors can direct their powers to the same goal."
Regarding the draft Cybersecurity Law expected to be on Parliament's agenda soon, he said that as the council they have worked in detail on the development, growth and investment of the sector and forwarded their regulatory opinions and suggestions to the relevant authorities.
"With these regulations, incentives that will accelerate the R&D activities of our domestic companies should also be created. As the TOBB Software Council we believe that innovation will continue unabated if the dimensions of 'national security, economic and international competitive power' are observed together with the procedures and principles to be regulated in the law and/or afterward," he concluded.
