Qatar will not tolerate cybercrimes

HE the Minister of Information and Communications Technology Dr Hessa Sultan al-Jaber.(right) Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, envoy for cyber security of the UK’s Minister of Culture & the Digital Economy. PICTURE: Najeer Feroke

Doha

The government will not tolerate any form of threats or attacks against Qatar’s cyberspace, particularly the country’s finance and energy sectors, HE the Minister of Information and Communications Technology Dr Hessa Sultan al-Jaber said.

In her keynote address during the Cyber Security Summit – Middle East, the Minister said oil and gas companies, including Qatar’s main Internet domain space, were hit with a wave of attacks last year “directly leading to some important disruption at the national level.”

“This is totally unacceptable…the economy could have suffered had it not been for the coordination and efforts of key agencies,” she stressed.

The Minister said the global economic impact of cybercrime activities has reached $400bn leading to an “unprecedented growth in the underground economy” as well as increased interest among cyber criminals in developing advanced and well-organised operations.

“Cyber security is vital to our national security, business competitiveness, and sustainability. It is critical to our future and the economy. Likewise, it is fundamental in ensuring the people’s trust,” Dr Jessa al-Jaber emphasised.

She added, “We believe that no one nation should work alone, the Internet connects us all. Qatar takes its role in global security very seriously. While cybercrimes are prevalent, we can turn these risks into exciting opportunities such as job generation, innovation, and advancements.”

Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, envoy for cyber security of the UK’s Minister of Culture & the Digital Economy, reiterated the Minister’s statements and said, “There is a real loss to the economy and to society in financial terms; that alone is a side effect, which a security attack can have.”

Jones also underscored the significant role of public and private partnerships in combating cybercrime, which she said occurs on a “daily” basis.

“Forging partnerships is a key to addressing cyber security issues and we need to develop more international partnerships such as government to government, between academic institutions, and across the private sector,” Jones said.

She estimated that the cost to resolve security breaches in the UK could reach QR3.4mn to QR1mn: “But while the number of breaches has gone down, the cost of resolving these breaches has gone up.”

Jones said analysis from British intelligence and security organisation Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) indicated that 33,000 malicious emails per month are being blocked by the gateway of the UK government’s secure Internet.

“Clearly, there is a need for better cyber security education in society and more trained experts and a government that is able to respond to threats in an agile way,” Jones pointed out.

In a separate session, Cyber Security Division executive director Khalid al-Hashmi of the Qatar Computer Emergency Response Team (Q-CERT) emphasised on the preparations the country has carried out via the national cyber security strategy.

He said the strategy covers five key objectives: safeguarding national cyberspace, responding adequately to cyber incidents, establishing legal regulatory frameworks, fostering a culture of cybersecurity, and developing national capability.