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Maneesh Bakshi
Doha
Qatar is always vigilant against potential cyber attacks and taking proactive measures to preempt any threat, a top official from Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) has said.
Qatar is vulnerable to cyber attacks that target its critical national resources such as those related to oil and gas sector and banking system as well as phishing attacks, onslaught of spam or unsolicited messages besides hacking of mobile phones.
Talking to Qatar Tribune recently, Assistant Undersecretary for Cyber Security at the ministry Eng Khalid al Hashimi said,"Qatar has adopted a proactive approach to preempt any cyber attacks and mitigate their harmful impact through prompt intervention."
Hashimi added,"The research wing of the Cyber Security Department is always on guard against potential cyber threats."
The Threat Monitoring System (TMS) was developed in-house by the Cyber Security Department in 2011. Its function is to gather information on potential threats from international sources, analysing them and sending alerts to government agencies to thwart any attempt to cause damage, he added.
The Cyber Security Department also issues weekly newsletters to keep concerned officials updated on threats, incidents, analyses, reports, directives and other related cyber security issues. Similarly, the Domain Name System Records Analysis detects suspicious or malicious domain names meant to extract classified information.
In order to make e-commerce safe, electronic certification and signature services are in place to enable citizens, expatriates and companies to conduct their electronic transactions securely.
Electronic signatures and other related services ensure integrity, confidentiality and identity and authenticity.
Hashimi said the ministry encourages organisations to conduct Cyber Security National Drill to tackle any cyber threats.
The drill prepares users to follow necessary steps on a national level in case of cyber attacks.
The training prepares the workforce for fighting cyber attacks targeting infrastructure at corporate and national levels.
Besides, Qatar also boasts of a reliable single point contact for security emergencies. Any cyber security incident can be reported to the Qatar Computer Emergency Response Team that runs a hotline number +974-44933408 which is available 24X7 for emergency calls.
It can be reported through email to '[email protected]' as well.
