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Shaikh Salman at the summit

New cyber security task force to be set up in Bahrain

MANAMA, October 21, 2014

Bahrain could soon get an IT security task force to protect it from cyber attacks, according to a government expert.

Central Informatics Organisation (CIO) director-general Shaikh Salman bin Mohammad Al Khalifa revealed a plan was already in motion to create such a unit, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

However, he said it could take up to four years to recruit and train staff for the initiative.

"It is not there yet but our intention is to get it to that stage (where there is a dedicated team of cyber security professionals protecting the country," said Shaikh Salman.

"It is not an overnight exercise - you can't take someone fresh out of university and just plop them in front of a screen. It is a three to four-year exercise, as you need to build competency.

"It has started, but it is just building as we go along. You cannot just import the knowledge, you need to build it yourself.

"People with good security knowledge are hard to come by and those who have good people will not let them go and will entice them to stay (with them)."

Shaikh Salman made the comments on the sidelines of the Cyber Security Summit 2014, which began yesterday at the Diplomat Radisson Blu Hotel, Residence and Spa.

The summit, which ends today, brings together IT professionals to discuss latest security threats and precautionary measures, with input from a team of international cyber security experts.

It is taking place under the patronage of Shaikh Salman, who said a cyber security awareness campaign had already been launched for government entities.

"We started an awareness campaign within government and within organisations such as the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority to raise awareness about cyber security," said Shaikh Salman.

"It is not a single-company problem, it is a national initiative that everybody needs to focus on and work together.

"It is all about scale - you need to have the right infrastructure to protect government and that requires a team that is sitting there 24/7 with the right competency, to see what is happening and help protect the country from information breaches."

However, he added that more investment was needed in Bahrainis to reduce reliance on foreign expertise.

"Based on our experience a competent Bahraini is 10 times more valuable than someone from outside, but the problem is that people don't have the time or patience to wait on a Bahraini to gain that knowledge - they want to import that knowledge," said Shaikh Salman.

"This is why we need to do something more along the lines of what Bapco did, along the line of engineers.

"They had a mentor for that sector and a team that grew under that mentor. Within a few years that knowledge was exported across the country.

"You would be surprised at how many Bahrainis left the CIO to work in the banking sector. That is what people need, people who are ready."

Roshcom organised the summit and its chief executive M A Sridhar said many people in Bahrain were unaware of online risks.

"There is a huge gap that exists with people in Bahrain not being aware of the kind of breaches that happen," he said.

"The type of cyber attacks that happen are no longer going to eat a small portion of your profit, it is a matter of sometimes collecting your intellectual property.

"The awareness of cyber attacks is very low and the reason we organised this forum is to bring all the stakeholders together and make sure that there is a plan in the market ready to prepare for the inevitable, which are attacks.

"I think Bahrain has already been a target and we have seen many breaches from a large number of organisations, but they are not reported on. "They will not share that information as no-one wants to outright say they have information leaks, but it happens and Bahrain needs to be prepared." - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | Security | IT | cyber | force |

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