Cyberspace has become a dynamic and integral part of society, propelling economic growth and innovation and enriching lives in countless ways. However, with these great rewards come new risks. The cyberspace provides cyber criminals with unparalleled opportunities to interfere with individuals and businesses.
To address these challenges, Qatar has been ramping up its cyber security efforts as well as working with its counterparts across the globe to ensure an open and secure cyberspace. In 2013, Qatar established the National Cyber Security Committee to address the cyber agenda at the national level and to ensure that all public and private entities are adopting the right agenda.
Qatar has also developed a National Cyber Security Strategy. The objectives of the strategy include safeguarding the nation’s critical information infrastructure, responding to and recover from cyber attacks, establishing a legal framework and regulations to establish a safe and secure cyberspace, fostering a culture of cyber security that promotes safe and appropriate use of cyberspace and enhances the national cyber security capabilities.
Qatari platform ‘Warning’ uses advanced technology to detect cyber security threats to infrastructure systems and corporations. The platform was created as part of the country’s efforts to prevent cyber-attacks. The platform uses AI technologies, identifies phishing domains and aims to block them, detects malware software and identifies malicious enterprise network traffic. The country trained around 15,000 employees of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education last year on cybercrime prevention as part of its efforts to tackle online crimes.
Due to the security authorities’ preparations, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 witnessed no instances of any major security incident. It was a safe and family-friendly tournament that brought cultures around the world together.
Qatar is committed to building a secure cyber ecosystem and building capabilities to cope with exponential developments. Under the theme ‘Deploying a Cyber-Resilient Framework in Digitised Qatar’, Cysec Global Series recently hosted its 5th Edition - the Cysec Qatar Summit 2023. Experts discussed pressing cyber security trends, best practices, solutions and latest innovations to transform the global cyber ecosystem at the event.
A smart city programme called TASMU aims at transforming key industry sectors. Qatar is among the biggest adopters of cloud in the Middle East region. In line with Qatar National Vision 2030, public and private enterprises have accelerated their digital transformation innovation and are committed to transforming the country into a digital economy, making Qatar a digital hub for the region and the world.
