In light of the recent cyber-attack on a leading Qatari bank, in which 1.4 GB of sensitive information was allegedly released to the public by hackers, cyber security has resurfaced to the top of the Qatari national priority list. The rising level of threats and cyber security risk have prompted immediate and collaborative action from the public, private and academic sectors of the country.
The Qatari Advisory (Shura) Council approved the draft of a law requiring companies to ensure that they are adequately protected against cyber security breaches. Failure to comply with the law carries a fine of up to $1.37 million. Due to this proposed strong financial penalty, along with rising threat levels and frequent attacks on critical networks, businesses are prepared to invest more in cyber security than ever before.
Hammad bin Khalifa University announced earlier in the year about the inclusion of MsC in Cybersecurity as part of their offering. Qatar University launched free cyber security courses to help raise awareness of the dangers of cyber security threats, and provide education on ways to mitigate these threats.
In further support to the national efforts, 120 CIOs, CISOs, and Heads of IT and Security from Qatar’s key critical infrastructure sectors are meeting on October 10th, 2016, at the 9th edition Cyber Defence Summit in Doha, Qatar. Through focused networking sessions designed to facilitate deals, the participating decision makers will explore and source effective cyber security solutions from leading local and global solution providers.
Organised by business facilitation company Naseba, the summit will also feature a day long knowledge sharing session which is a combination of talk shows, security presentations, hands-on workshops and industry specific brainstorming. The agenda is designed with the help of leading industry experts and will address on the ground challenges rather than superficial or notional topics.
Some of the speakers who will be sharing in-depth insights include Sami Al Shammari, IT Director at the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy; Shaik Abdulkhader, Chief Technology Security Officer at Vodafone Qatar, and Dr. Marc Dacier, Director of Cybersecurity Research at Qatar Computing Research Institute.
In addition, attendees will also hear from MustaphaHuneyd, Head of Corporate Information Security at Ooredoo and Peter Baurichter, Head of Information Security at Maersk Oil Qatar, among others.
Major players in the cyber security market such as Spire Solutions, Fortinet, Global Security Network, Akamai, Tripwire, iBusiness International Solutions, Stormshield, Softlab Business Solutions, Osirium, E2Labs and Bitdefender will all be showcasing their capabilities during the summit and help address Qatar’s cybersecurity challenges.
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