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Türkiye’s Cybersecurity Directorate has been restructured to include digital government and artificial intelligence, a move expected to strengthen coordination, governance and security across the country’s digital ecosystem, officials and industry representatives said.
The amendment to the Presidential Decree on the Cybersecurity Directorate, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was published in the Official Gazette and entered into force.
Under the revised structure, the Cybersecurity Directorate’s mandate was expanded to include “digital government,” granting it responsibility for drafting legislation, preparing national strategies and action plans, and overseeing implementation in this field.
Authorities for public-sector artificial intelligence applications were also consolidated under the directorate.
As part of the restructuring, new General Directorates for Public Artificial Intelligence and Digital Government were established within the institution.
Ertan Barut, chair of the Türkiye Software Council at the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), said the changes demonstrate a commitment to a more institutional, coordinated and sustainable cybersecurity governance model.
Barut said clarifying the directorate’s structure and responsibilities is a critical step not only for protecting critical infrastructure, but also for standardizing public digital architecture, ensuring data and supply security, and building national capacity.
He said expanding the institutional scale of the directorate and strengthening on-the-ground coordination would reduce risks and speed up decision-making, calling the move a positive step for national security and critical infrastructure protection.
Barut said stronger central coordination could reduce role confusion during cyber incidents and enable faster crisis management through a single authority, while also helping to establish common national standards.
He added that a stronger Cybersecurity Directorate could boost investment, exports and technological development in the cybersecurity sector, provided that increased bureaucracy does not slow the ecosystem.
Barut said Türkiye will need an estimated 100,000 qualified cybersecurity professionals by 2030, stressing the importance of education, public-private cooperation and policies to retain talent amid global competition.
Erdem Eris, CEO of CyberArts, said expanding the directorate’s mandate to cover digital government and artificial intelligence shows that cybersecurity is now being treated as a strategic governance issue tied to the continuity and reliability of public services.
Eris said digital government initiatives require stronger standards for data protection, service continuity and supply chain security, adding that capabilities such as 24/7 monitoring, incident response and auditability have become part of institutional accountability.
He also warned that while artificial intelligence can improve efficiency in public services, it introduces new risks related to data privacy, model security and dependency.
Eris said success will depend on holistic risk management, continuous oversight and a “security by design” approach.
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