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At the Bengal Delta Conference, speakers advocated for a fundamental shift in how cybersecurity is perceived, urging the government and policymakers to integrate it into the nation's economic infrastructure rather than viewing it solely as a law enforcement concern. They emphasized that fostering trust in digital platforms is crucial for the expansion of creative and platform economies.

The discussion, titled “From ICT Act to Cyber Security Ordinance,” highlighted the need for a broader “politics of care.” This approach should encompass digital well-being, privacy rights, and critical digital literacy for all segments of society. Imran Ferdous, assistant professor and head of the Department of Media and Communication at Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), noted that Bangladesh's digital governance and creative economy have evolved separately. He pointed out that while the ICT Act was enacted in 2006, leading to five legislative updates that expanded state authority, the creative economy only received formal recognition and a Tk 800 crore allocation in the current fiscal year.

Mohammad Imdadur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited, stressed that modern sectors, including online banking, digital marketing, healthcare, higher education, and energy, are dependent on secure digital systems. "Everywhere we should start seeing cybersecurity infrastructure as part of our business infrastructure," he stated. Rahman acknowledged the necessity of strong laws but identified enforcement as a significant challenge, citing an alleged data breach involving two lakh customer records from a local grocery chain as evidence of the need for stricter data protection.

Rahman suggested Bangladesh could learn from frameworks like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and similar regulations in Japan, South Korea, and Nordic countries. He warned against "data colonialism," where data generated by local users is extracted and monetized by global platforms without commensurate value returning to the domestic economy. Co-founder and CEO of bdjobs, AKM Fahim Mashroor, called for a nationwide campaign to promote responsible digital behavior and enhance digital literacy.

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Everywhere we should start seeing cybersecurity infrastructure as part of our business infrastructure.