Abdulrahman bin Ali Al Farahid Al Malki, president of the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), stated that the organization is still working to provide the best cyber security systems nationally for the next FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Al Maliki claimed that the agency’s cadres and team are working tirelessly and around-the-clock to ensure that cyber security is being strengthened throughout the nation based on the best practices used by world-class organizations.
Speaking about his agency’s roles during the competition, which is set to kick off in November, Al Maliki explained that there was a plan to put a number of procedures in force, including activating plans linked with sporting events in order to respond to incidents and the effective handling of possible cyber threats and hackings as well as activating operational capabilities including watching, finding out about cyber-attacks and the effective and immediate response to cyber incidents.
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He added that part of the agency’s preparations for the competition were the testing of the systems through simulating the hacking of programmes, applications and networks of the institutions operating during the tournament and the testing of these institutions’ abilities to face hacking attempts through periodic scanning and testing the stadiums’ networks as well as evaluating potential and dangers of cyber security for more than 100 vital facilities across the country.
The agency checks and evaluates all technical designs, programmes and apps linked with the championship before its kick-off to ascertain all cyber security preconditions are met, Al Maliki said, reiterating the agency was safeguarding all facilities that provide indirect services for the championship as well as providing cyber security-related technical consultations.
The agency’s representatives will be present at all championship-related facilities to immediately and directly respond, monitor and verify any electronic attacks against computers and networks, he added, noting that the agency had previous live experiences in a variety of tournaments including the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup, which helped the agency boost strategies and capabilities to confront any hacking attempts against sporting facilities.
Commenting on the agency’s approaches to raise awareness, Al Maliki highlighted the relentless efforts exerted to raise the awareness of governmental, non-governmental organisations as well as community members to better protect personal networks and data as partners in the promotion of cyber security across the country.
Al Maliki said that the agency has a large number of programmes and training courses aimed at boosting capabilities of individuals and institutions in securing data, in addition to frequently launched media campaigns on the social media and newspapers regarding awareness of cybersecurity.
The NCSA President added that the organization tries to encourage people to adopt a culture of self-defense against hacking. He urged people to get their information from reputable, legitimate sources and to stop listening to rumors and false information.
The NCSA recently formed alliances with several state organizations. Additionally, since March 2021, it has trained 25,000 workers from a variety of industries, with intentions to grow this number in the future in order to better preserve and protect information in order to achieve a secure cyber environment.
