The 1st GCC Digital Security Forum organized by MEEZA under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Hessa Al Jaber, Minister of Information and Communication Technology in Qatar, got underway at the St. Regis Hotel, on Tuesday.
More than 500 delegates representing governments and companies from 15 countries in the Gulf and beyond are attending the two-day forum aimed at discussing key digital security issues of vital importance to governments and companies in Qatar and across the Gulf.
Opening the Forum, H.E. Dr. Hessa Al Jaber, Minister of Information and Communication Technology in Qatar said, “The issue of digital security is a critical one not just for our region, but for the entire globe. As we are all aware, we have all become increasingly reliant on ICT technologies both professionally and in our personal lives. It is so woven into the fabric of our lives that cyber security is about protect what we are so dependent upon in the way we live.”
According to Dr. Hessa Al Jaber, Qatar under the leadership of HH The Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani has taken prudent steps in strengthening the nation in cyber security through close cooperation in the government, private sector, academia and other countries.
She said, “Qatar’s leadership has stepped up to the challenges of cyber security with a national-level committee focused on fostering cooperation amongst both the public and private sectors, coordinating a national level cyber security strategy, developing national policies and regulations and conducting information security assessments.”
Reiterating the government’s effort in pursuing cyber security polices, Dr. Dr. Hessa Al Jaber said, “We will pursue cyber security policies that enhance our security, but we will preserve our citizen right to privacy.”
Expressing optimism about taking cyber security head-on, Dr. Hessa Al Jaber noted that to achieve this, we should have a more sophisticated understanding of cyber threats and the damage they can cause. She said this would give us an improved awareness on the need for cyber security in all sectors.
“We now understand that effective cyber security is the result of improved technology, better defined processes, and a workforce more educated about cyber threats and risks,” added Dr. Hessa Al Jaber.
Urging the need for collaboration to fight the pressing issue of cyber security, Dr. Hessa Al Jaber said, “The scale of challenges requires strong national leadership, but we know that internet is fundamentally multinational. Threats are cross border. We will seek partnership with GCC and other countries that share our views.”
Chairman of MEEZA , Rashid Al Naimi while speaking at the Forum said the purpose of organizing this forum is to make a modest contribution to the developmental ambitions and futuristic vision of HH the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. “This Forum may not be considered as ours in MEEZA but it is in fact a Forum that belongs to all governments and private institutions in Qatar. We also consider all GCC States as full partners in this event,” added.
Rashid Al Naimi further said that the convening of the GCC Digital Security Forum in Doha reflects the crucial importance of this subject as it started to potentially impact the operations of governments as well as private organizations and society at large.
He said Digital Security is not mere issue of technical nature, it is rather the first line of defense of the economy, society and national wealth against attempted incursions by criminals elements that will always, for various motives, try to disrupt and undermine economy and the orderly functioning of organizations.
Commending ICT sector for its contributions in the success story of Qatar, Rashid Al Nuaimi said the ICT sector has made substantial investments in areas of infrastructure, mobile and fiber optic networks, broadband and data centers.
“With the growing digital economy and innovation, our country has now become at par with the best economies in the world in terms of usage of: voice and data communication, smart devices, the internet and in terms of the quality and capacity of our ICT infrastructure, systems and their wide ranging use by the government, corporations and individuals,” said Mr. Rashid Al Naimi.
Later addressing the gathering, International Telecommunication Union Secretary General, Dr. Hamadoun Toure said Bridging the ‘digital divide’ has been the utmost concern in recent years. He said with almost two thirds of the global population still offline and a daunting gap of 60%in internet penetration between Africa and Europe, there still remain many challenges.
Dr. Hamadoun Toure said , ” As our physical and cyber worlds overlap, there is an increased need to address the related challenges of ensuring, human rights, the rule of law , good governance and socio-economic development.”
He said the recent high-profile revelations about surveillance activities, widely covered in the international media , have highlighted the lack of trust and the need for agreed norms and principles to rebuild confidence.
For her part, MEEZA , Qatar Chief Executive Officer Ms. Ghada El Rassi making her keynote presentation said, ” Envisioned and organized by MEEZA , the GCC Digital Security Forum has been designed to bring the issue of digital security to the fore of the public domain and to add value to the efforts made by governments and the private sector in Qatar and the other Gulf countries to fight digital crime and protect the economy and society from its potential risks and damages.”
She said the Forum is another reflection of MEEZA ‘s strong commitment to bring to Qatar and the Gulf the most advanced information and telecommunication and security technology and make it available to customers in a cost effective manner. “In line with its strategy, MEEZA has been the first in Qatar to launch the first certified commercial Security Operations Centre (SOC) and to offer clients the highest protection possible to critical information and data” she added.
Ms. Ghada El Rassi further said that the GCC Digital Security Forum is taking place amidst heightened fears from the rising risk posed by digital attacks and breaches on the global economy and particularly on critical infrastructure, financial markets and payment systems. She said more and more governments and corporations are now considering Digital Security as an issue that is strategic in nature and are therefore investing heavily in security infrastructure, counter measures and solutions.
According to Miss Ghada El Rassi in the past few years, the Gulf region has been subject to an increasing number of digital attacks. “While no large scale breaches and disruptions have been recorded, it is feared that networks and data might be subjected to sustained attacks in the coming years using more malicious and sophisticated techniques which necessitate more focus on boosting defenses and building up awareness of threats and also nurturing a robust digital security culture across all sectors and industries.”
Following Ms. Ghada El Rassi’s presentation, three interactive sessions took place. The first session was dedicated to the topic ” Securing Critical Infrastructure Data”. In this session, the panelist discussed and reviewed strategies and policies related to efforts in developing and adopting needed standards.
The second session was on the subject “Enterprise Strategies Against Cyber Threats”. During this session speakers tacked the issue of developing the right cyber security strategy, aligning the security strategy with corporate strategy and raising cyber security issues to the board level.
The last session of the day was a workshop on Advance Security Operation Center by Hatem Ali, CISSP, ISO 27001 LA, Sales Manager, RSA. In this workhop Hatem Ali spoke about e rising security attacks, and the scale and impact of security breaches and the rise of Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). The forum was envisioned and organized by Meeza in collaboration with Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal.
