Cyber attacks should be dealt seriously: Attiyah

Minister of State for Defence Affairs and Member of the Council of Ministers HE Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah yesterday said that cyber attack is a real threat and should be dealt seriously.

Dr Al Attiyah made this remarks speaking at the Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) on ‘Electronic Attacks and their Economic and Social Effects’ as part of the campus’s Dean’s lecture series. He discussed about cyber attacks, and their effects on the economy, society, and many other aspects of it. To explain the nature of cyber attacks, Dr Al Attiyah presented a case study based on a hypothetical situation.

“I want to present you now with a case study; this is of course completely hypothetical, mind you. No truth to it whatsoever! Let’s say that there were a number of state actors. And these state actors decided to boycott and besiege their wealthy, small neighbour state. They wanted to infringe on its sovereignty and control its domestic and sovereign funds for their own personal gains. They searched high and low for a way to legitimise and convince their own societies of the besiegement. Failing to find lawful means to do so, they concocted a plan to hack the national news agency of that small, wealthy nation next door and attribute false statements to the head of state of that country”.

“What followed was a synchronised and systematic boycott and besiegement that separated families, disrupted trade and caused an international political frenzy. In the immediate aftermath of the hacking, confusion and panic ensued,” Dr Al Attiyah said.

Capitalizing on the confusion, the besieging states acted on the false statements, wagering on the very weak foundation they had built for themselves. What those countries didn’t consider or respect was the intellect of their own people. Slowly but surely, evidence incriminating the state actors surfaced to the public. The perpetrators were exposed for the entire world to see.
“The immediate effects of the cyber-attach slowed the economy of the small state momentarily. It unsettled its society and dented its regional coherency. However, proving resilient, the people of the region came out in solidarity, the economy recovered and flourished due to the state’s diversified tactics, and the society emerged unified behind its leadership. The plants of the besieging countries failed miserably. What they believed would topple this small state actually made it much stronger!” he said.
Further Dr Al Attiya added saying, “So you see, cyber-attacks are a very bad thing, but their effects are not always bad.”

“I have heard many labels attributed to cyber-attacks. I have heard it being called cyber-warfare, which of course in my current position raises all the alarms in my head! I have also heard it being called cyber-terrorism. Regardless of what name it is concealed behind, it is a real threat, and it should be dealt with seriously,” said Dr Al Attiya.

“We must focus our efforts on developing our own human capital in matters involving cyber-security and computer programming; we need to continue exploring strategic partnerships that ensure the safety and security of our own infrastructure; and we must invest in research and development that progresses our understanding of the ever-expanding world of cyber-intelligence,” he added.

Speaking to an audience of CMU-Q Dean Michael Trick, diplomats, students, faculty and several others, Dr Al Attiya, compared the dangers faced in the field during his early days of career as a fighter pilot in the Qatari armed forced with the modern day challenges.

“I started my career as a fighter pilot in the Qatari armed forces. As a young fighter pilot, I was in many instances either subject to or witness to real danger. I have flown in hostile skies, been shot at, and almost ran out of fuel when I was miles from my base. The commonality between all the dangers that I and my colleagues faced during those times was that those dangers were tangible. We could see and feel the threat approaching, and we were trained and equipped to combat them,” he said.

“Talking about the good old days, I used to be able to fly a fighter jet with two other pilots with me, 12 on-ground crew members, and countless other mechanical engineers on site. Today, we only require one or two people in a vehicle with a laptop to do all that. Unmanned aerial vehicles, ships and on-ground machinery are carrying extremely advanced and sophisticated technology onboard. We are able to go places, see things and protect ourselves in ways we never could before. But these new capabilities come with a price. We are becoming more susceptible to attacks with only one click of a button. Our technologies, if not protected properly, could be damaged in ways that would not only cause economic damages, but would endanger lives,” he added.

However, Dr Al Attiya said that as the challenges grow, the country is also developing its cyber infrastructure to be strong.

“The challenges we face are ever-changing, but so are we. Through institutions such as Carnegie Mellon, we are developing our cyber capabilities to not only match, but in fact surpass the capabilities of our enemies. We are creating enduring infrastructures that cater to our people and ensure their safety. We are building strategic relationships with nations and academic institutions in an effort to progress our own capacities,” he said.

An interactive question and answer session was followed by the lecture and Dean Trick presented a memento honoring Dr Al Attiya duirng the event.