(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The 3rd Gulf Intelligence Qatar Energy R&D Forum will be hosted by Qatar University New Research Complex on April 28 to better align research priorities of the national energy industry with academia and government around the country's three grand challenges - energy security, water security and in particular this year the forum will have a focus on cyber security.
Following the 2012 cyber attacks on Qatar's RasGas and Saudi Arabia's state oil company Saudi Aramco, Qatar's leadership has stepped up to challenges of cyber security with a national-level committee focusing on fostering cooperation among the public and private sectors, coordinating a national level cyber security strategy, developing national policies and regulations, and conducting information security assessments.
Minister of Information and Communications Technology
H E Dr Hessa Sultan Al Jaber will provide an update on the government's strategic plans for predicting, overcoming and preventing the next generation of critical infrastructure cyber attacks at the forum audience of some 200 research professionals tasked with the responsibility of building Qatar's energy R&D ecosystem.
"As a result of the large number of high-profile cyber attacks in 2014, cyber security has been pushed to the top of global policy agendas," said Sean Evers, Managing Director, Gulf Intelligence.
"Last year's incidents allude to a worrying trend: The world's critical infrastructure, including energy systems that serve as the lifelines of global economies, is under constant threat and attack, while attacks have also become more sophisticated and complex."
Following the approval of a draft cyber law in early March, Qatar continues to push ahead with research and development into bespoke cyber security solutions, which are recognised to be of critical importance, given the increased reliance on computing and networking technologies by the global energy industry.
As a highly connected country, Qatar has additional vulnerabilities and has focused efforts on preparing for, protecting against and recovering from cyber attacks.
The forum will highlight cyber security as a research priority in Qatar and progress in developing experts and expertise in detecting, blocking and responding to cyber threats before they impact national infrastructure, economy or population. To succeed in its endeavour, Qatar will have to pursue innovation on a much greater scale than seen in the past, with a combination of cultural shift and institutional developments such as introducing robust educational programmes in cyber security.
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