First Kuwait Cyber Security Conference underway

KUWAIT: Cyber security forms an integral component of national security plans, a senior government official said yesterday. Salim Al-Othaina, chief of the Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA), made that statement in a speech delivered at the inauguration of the first Kuwait Cyber Security Conference kicked off yesterday at the Millennium Hotel. The conference is organized by Kuwait Hackers under the auspices of the Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) and in cooperation with Ministry of State for Youth Affairs and CITRA.

The conference is an opportunity for participants to get acquainted with the most serious cyber threats, Othaina said. "We are keen to follow the approach of cooperation between all sectors, all operating under one umbrella of government to achieve our vision. We want to develop a system of exchanging information between local and international institutions, and a mechanism for reporting hacker attacks and cybercrime to spread national awareness of cyber security to all sectors of society and institutions. We also want to build national cadres capable of dealing with cyber security issues through the establishment of a specialized academy for this field," he said.

Young Kuwaiti experts
Director General of CAIT Haya Al-Wadani expressed her happiness to see young Kuwaiti experts participating in the workshops. "It is good to see young Kuwaiti experts in such an important skill and expertise, especially in our modern era of technology," she said. She pointed out that protection from intrusions is a priority for CAIT, so the agency has prepared a comprehensive plan for the safety of networks and immediate response in case of emergency. "It also conducts the necessary tests and spreads awareness among employees," Wadani said.

Director of Kuwait Hackers Basil Al-Othman said for the first time, a group of young Kuwaiti hackers participated in the sessions of the conference, pointing out that these experts will reveal hacking techniques through live demonstrations of breakthroughs and explain how individuals or institutions can protect themselves from hacking.

He noted that the initiative of the Kuwaiti youth comes in response to the challenges faced by vital bodies in the country in the form of electronic threats and attempts to penetrate the information, services, economic, security and military infrastructure, which constitute the vital artery of the ministries and institutions of the state, as well as in response to the harassment of young people on social networks and hacking of smartphones. He stressed the importance of forming national cadres capable of dealing with cyber security issues.

By Faten Omar