At the conclusion of the second Gulf conference and exhibition on cybersecurity, hosted by Kuwait and organized by the Kuwaiti Society for Information Security yesterday, participants recommended the establishment of a Gulf federation for cybersecurity.
The federation would focus on measuring the current situation in the region’s cybersecurity field on an ongoing basis, by addressing thorny issues, and developing policies and frameworks for the cybersecurity system. It would also monitor developments in the field of hacking and cybercrime to identify potential and emerging threats and prevent their occurrence. Additionally, the participants called for the creation of a unified security strategy to protect against upcoming changes.
According to Dr. Safaa Zaman, the President of the Information Security Association, the conference issued 16 recommendations that were submitted in an integrated report to the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council. These recommendations include supporting government steps related to information security governance, intelligent control systems for cyberthreats, cooperation with educational institutions, risk management, research and development, and other projects that create a strong security base. The conference also emphasized expanding participatory work in the field of cybersecurity with concerned authorities in the GCC countries.
Dr. Zaman stressed the need to reformulate laws and legislation related to cybersecurity to address the rapid changes in technology, the problems that result from the current laws, and provide the legal framework for developing electronic services, protecting information security, and launching specialized educational and training initiatives to help qualify and build distinguished national competencies.
The most prominent recommendations included the development of necessary policies for the cybersecurity system, re-drafting laws and legislation related to cybersecurity, following up on developments in the field of hacking and cybercrime, drawing up a unified security strategy that protects countries from technological changes, supporting government steps in the governance of information security, cooperation with educational institutions and risk management, and expanding participatory work in the field of cybersecurity.