Engineer Khalid Sadiq Al Hashimi, Assistant Undersecretary for Cyber Security Department at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, speaking at the workshop on cybersecurity, organised at the Messila Resort and Spa, in Doha, yesterday. Pic: Salim Ma
Qatar pays special attention to cybersecurity and protection of national vital information infrastructure as reliance on Information and communications technology (ICT) and internet is growing in the country, said Engineer Khalid Sadiq Al Hashimi, Assistant Undersecretary for Cyber Security Department at the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC).
He was speaking at the ‘FIRST Technical Colloquium 2019’ workshop which began yesterday. The two-day workshop is being attended by a large number of regional and international cyber security experts. FIRST (the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams), is a premier organisation and recognised global leader in incident response.
Al Hashimi stressed that as part of Qatar’s efforts to address these challenges and to address current and emerging cyber threats and threats, the National Cybersecurity Strategy has been developed by the National Information Security Committee to provide a governance structure to address cybersecurity issues collectively at the highest levels of government.
Al Hashimi added that the objectives of the strategy can be achieved by sharing timely information, cooperating and taking action as well as the development and refinement of the skills of national cadres in the field of cybersecurity. The MOTC annually organises a national cybersecurity exercise as part of the efforts to achieve the goals.
He said that every year, Qatar National Day is celebrated on December 18, and on this important national occasion, all sectors in the country celebrate it in their own way. “In the Cybersecurity Department of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, we promote national loyalty and solidarity, through a range of events and exercises related to this area, the most important of which is the national cyber drill, which is held this year for the seventh time,” he said.
He stressed that the State of Qatar is constantly working to empower the workforce and raise the level of readiness in all sectors in the field of cybersecurity, as evidenced by its knowledge and interest in hosting distinguished events in this field.
The workshop and the 7th National Cyber drill will focus on topics related to identifying and detecting cyber threats in proactive ways and how to deal with them. The workshop coincides with STAR 7, Qatars National Cyber Security Drill exercises, hosted annually in Doha.
