News
Industry leaders convene in Dubai to address unprecedented levels of cyber crime across the Nation
March 2012 by Marc Jacob
Online security in the Middle East is fast becoming recognised as a real concern for businesses and government. It is not hard to see that public and political dialogues have moved online and are now accessible to almost anyone who knows where to look. This is no different in the Middle East. There are several factors to take into consideration when trying to understand why Cyber Security in the Middle East is such a fast growing area of concern.
A recent article published by the FT (Financial Times) commented on the social and cultural ramifications of political dialogue moving online; where it is increasingly available. The article also highlighted that tensions existing in the physical world are now being fought on new and barely understood digital playing fields.
As online possibilities continue to grow exponentially; so does the need for up-to-date security. The business environment of today and of the future is going to be online. We are able to bank, shop, share, download and monitor global news 24hours a day.
Jim Nelms - Chief of Information Security for The World Bank and confirmed speaker at The Cyber Security Summit UAE 2012 says:
“Protection of data and digital assets is critical; however protection is becoming more difficult with the proliferation of new technologies such as mobile devices, cloud computing, complex multi-tiered architectures and new complex threats such as Advanced Persistent Threats (APT).”
Our ability to access information has never been this interactive. With this constant free flow of information there have also been several high profile cyber-attacks. In the Middle East alone the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates has been successfully attacked, the e-mail account of Basher al-Assad the Syrian Prime Minister. Also consider the Stuxnet virus which was designed to compromise Iranian Nuclear Plants, blame was directed at the USA and Israel with no denial from with either party.
The reality is Cyber Security is affecting almost all industries on many different levels. Aside from the direct international and political threat of Cyber warfare, experts have commented that the Middle East is experiencing unprecedented attacks on its financial institutions, they attribute this to the overwhelming wealth of the Gulf countries. This further underlines that cyber threats
come from a vast spectrum of interest and intent, therefore they are unpredictable and undetectable
The Cyber Security UAE Summit is an innovation of Oliver Kinross Ltd. On the 9th & 10th October 2012, professionals from all industries will come together in Dubai to discuss the very latest in Global Cyber Security and how to best protect organisations in the future. This conference is the first of its kind to cover Cyber Security issues across Financial Institutions, National Security, Transport systems, Critical Infrastructure & Telecommunications.
This event comes at the perfect time for the UAE and Middle East as companies look to update their systems with the latest safeguards against such threats, but also because the issue of Cyber security requires far more analysis.
Speakers include the Head of Information Security at Dubai Bank (Taimur Ijlal), Lead Security and System Egineer from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (Mahmoud Yassin) and Director of the UAE Computer Emergency Response Team (Tariq Al Hawi). The Summit will consist of a two-day conference and exhibition and will feature 30 top-level presentations from across the industries. This is a not to be missed high level event in the Arab and world wide Cyber Security annual calender.
For media & registration enquiries please contact:
Eoghan McDonaugh
Production & Marketing
Oliver Kinross
Email: e.mcdonaugh@oliverkinross.com
Direct: + 44 (0)20 7374 4538
Fax: + 44 (0)20 7127 4503
Oliver Kinross: Oliver Kinross was established with the aim of delivering high quality training, business intelligence and networking opportunities for industry. This is achieved through a series of training courses, industry briefings and conferences catering for senior level delegates for many of the world’s largest companies.
References
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/banks-a-prime-target-for-cyber-attacks
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55b90ef2-7420-11e1-bcec-00144feab49a.html#axzz1qKQUebTE
