The Fifth Information Security Conference for the Financial Sector will take place on November 18 and 19, to shed light on information security, infrastructure improvements and solutions for all vital sectors related to information security, not only the financial sector.

The fifth edition of the conference will focus on digital assets and securing the state's earnings which comes as part of the country's directive towards fighting cybercrime which has spread recently, highlighting the importance of protecting the information infrastructure of any country and the need to raise awareness on the danger of such crimes and fight it.
Speaking at a press conference for the event Sunday, acting director, Banking, Payments and Settlement Systems Department and head of IBAN Committee and Organising Committee at Qatar Central Bank (QCB) Abdulhadi Ahen said the preparations of the conference start eight months before the event to ensure a successful edition.
This contributes to the improvement of information security in the country and discuss the challenges facing banks inside and outside of Qatar, in addition to the current solutions and infrastructure improvements for the financial sector.
He added this year's edition will include workshops to achieve a comprehensive understanding to the issues discussed by the conference, as well as give an opportunity to participating entities to present their expertise and experience in the field of information security and financial technology to ensure raising awareness on the importance of the topics discussed at the conference.
Ahen expressed his hope that the State would establish an independent committee to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the various systems of the information security infrastructure and provide its services not only at the level of the financial sector, but at all levels in the State, rather than by outsourcing companies that assess the information security infrastructure and risks.
He stressed that this is in line with the mechanisms aimed at opening new horizons and adopting a new approach in the field of information security and related programmes, in order to provide the necessary services to the State in this field, especially in preparation for hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Ahen added that this year's edition will see the participation of about 40 companies specialised in the field of information security from within the State of Qatar and from Gulf countries such as Oman and Kuwait, and countries such as Turkey, Sudan, the USA, Britain, France, Singapore, China, India and other countries.
He revealed that every year, new international companies are invited to participate in the conference, some of which have already started to open branches in Qatar.
He said this year's edition also witnessed invitations to experts and specialists in the field of cybercrime to attend and participate in the conference to exchange knowledge and expertise in the fight against cybercrime, as well as highlighting the seriousness of social media.
In addition, invitations were extended to all government agencies and universities to participate in the discussion sessions in order to transfer knowledge more widely and to raise awareness of the importance of information security, he said.
He also hoped that the objectives of the conference and its associated workshops would be achieved, and that the conference would not only be an educational gathering but also a start to adopting a more comprehensive approach in the country, especially with regards to information security in all sectors.

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