Best cyber defence in the region...

Best cyber defence in the region…

According to a recent report, the UAE has topped the region in cyber security but Kipp wonders who should get the merit for this

August 7, 2012 12:35 by M. Aldalou

Yet another report has surfaced with a set of rankings that surely enough, while complimenting the UAE on an achievement, has shown an improvement in its regional and global ranking. The country was ranked 1^st regionally in cyber security and, according to the International Institute for Management Development report, moved up several ranks on the global map as well.

Not to discredit the efforts of cyber security and the TRA, who have established a strong team of emergency response, but Kipp cannot help but wonder whether this ranking comes from the pure merit of cyber defense or whether the honour is attributed to the number of portals, websites, programs and applications such as torrents, free surfing, Skype and others that are banned. In either case, the UAE may have been ready with a platform that is sealed tight.

Now Kipp is no hacker, but isn’t it logical that the more doors that are closed, the less chance of a surprise attack? In other countries where free surfing is available and web users are allowed to download torrents and VoIP programs, they may face a harder battle against hackers because every application represents an opportunity for cyber invasion.

However, the TRA did pull together an impressive package, established through the UAE Computer Emergency Response team that was an initiative accredited by the Ministerial Council in 2008.

Mohamad Bin Ahmad Al-Qamzi, Chairman of TRA Board of Directors, said: “The TRA places great emphasis on cyber security making it one of the strategic goals in efforts to prepare a leading globally sustainable, secure and competitive digital environment in the country’s ICT sector.”

Interestingly enough, the aforementioned team has an Emiratization ratio of 100 percent including all members and cyber specialists.

Cyber attacks have proven to be a cause of in this region, especially when everything from a Twitter account (Reuters) to a stock market can be hacked, controlled and negatively manipulated. There was a recent scare after what was called the flame virus, initially discovered by Kaspersky Lab, broke out and caused a slight bit of panic among the technical community after it was described as the most complex piece of malicious software to date.