By Joseph Varghese/Staff Reporter
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The Ministry of Interior (MOI) will establish a cyber security system in co-operation with its public and private sector partners at the national level, a senior official has said .
Presenting the government’s strategy at a panel discussion on “The Role of Cyber Security in Maintaining Public Security” at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ) yesterday, Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim al- Khulaifi, the director general of Public Security (chief of police) at the Ministry of Interior, said that MOI had taken distinct steps in combating cyber crimes by creating organisational and legislative environment and IT infrastructure.
MOI has also initiated cyber development by establishing a Cyber Crimes Investigation Centre and an Information Security Centre. MOI will train a national cadre to manage cyber security progresses through collaborations between public and private sectors.
Speaking on the occasion, al-Khulaifi said that it was no longer possible to distinct cyber security from general public security. He said: “The most important provisions of the strategic plan for cyber security and combating cyber crimes on the level of human and economic resources include qualifying national cadre in the field of cyber security, transferring and localising knowledge and experiences from universities and international institutions.”
He added that cyber crimes were increasing and intensive efforts and co-operation of the community were needed to tackle them.
Al-Khulaifi pointed out that efforts needed more research, creativity and innovation in cyber security. “The establishment of the security system will assure the steadiness of communication services and information technology in emergency cases and cyber-attacks and develop appropriate plans to identify the mechanism of handling cyber-attacks against the security of the state.”
Major General al-Khulaifi highlighted that one of the strategic goals of MOI was to reinforce integrated information security system, through the creation of a secure environment for the children and young people and the establishment of a proactive unit for searching, investigating and monitoring cyber crimes. MOI will also carry out awareness campaigns regarding cyber security.
The other panellists included Dr Raj Reddy, Moza Bint Nasser University professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr Gordon Bell, distinguished scholar, principal researcher, Microsoft Research; and Dr Ahmed Elmagarmid, executive director, Qatar Computing Research Institute.
The panellists opined that education within government, businesses and individuals was the key to maintaining cyber security. CMUQ dean Ilker Baybers said the aim of the session was to add scientific and practical knowledge to its students through programmes offered by the university in Qatar.
Research chair at CMUQ
Staff Major General Saad bin Jassim al-Khulaifi, the director general of Public Security (chief of police) at the Ministry of Interior (MOI), said that the MOI had recommended the establishment of a research chair in cyber security at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMUQ). The research chair will provide the agencies concerned with the scientific research results in the field of cyber security and “contribute to the conversion of some of the results to operational applications at the national level”.
