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QNA
Doha
With the shift to digital banking presenting a variety of risks to the financial sector, information security plays a key role in enhancing safety and protecting privacy, Minister of Finance HE Ali Shareef al Emadi has said.
The government of Qatar is working in coordination with international and regional organisations to enhance information security efforts, he said while addressing the opening session of the fifth Information Security Conference for the Financial Sector held in Doha on Sunday.
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al Thani, several ministers and Qatar Central Bank Governor Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud al Thani attended the opening session of the conference.
The minister called for unifying the legislative framework among the countries to protect electronic banking transactions and prevent electronic crime organisations from exploiting gaps in the legislation of some countries. He said it was an urgent issue that requires rapid coordination and protection, especially since cyber attacks are transnational.
Emadi said Qatar has recognised the importance of information security in the financial sector, which plays an important role in the economy.
Several years ago, he said, the Prime Minister established the National Cyber Security Committee, which is specialised in framing information security policies. Its members include representatives of all ministries in the country and were tasked with shielding attempts to hack into the electronic systems of the country, he added.
The minister said better information security framework requires close cooperation among government agencies, banking sector and information technology institutions.
The world, he said, was currently witnessing an important development of electronic crimes of all kinds as new and sophisticated methods have been developed as a result of the tremendous progress in the field of technology.
Experts and specialists around the world have agreed on the need to find the best solutions in the area of information security to detect and deal with electronic risks in advance, he added.
Emadi said Information Security Conference for the financial sector is part of the efforts of Qatar and the Qatar Central Bank to safeguard the security of information in the financial sector.
Guillermo Christensen, Partner at the White Collar Defense and Government Investigation Group and Chair of the Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Practice at Brown Rudnick, said there were challenges facing vital infrastructure, especially in the information security for private sector companies.
He reiterated the importance of the public sector to provide support to companies in that sector which helps in responding to cyber attacks and achieving the principle of protection and security of user information.
Speaking at the conference, Christensen said governments have come a long way in the field of information security in the last decade.
"However, this does not rise to the required levels, especially with regard to information security," he said.
Executive Director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Dr Alfred Hannig said information security in the financial sector is one of the major challenges facing both governments and institutions.
He highlighted the importance of this conference as a platform for exchanging experiences and updates on the protection of information in the financial sector, which is a fundamental pillar in the local economies and the global economy in general.
