GCCIA forum on Cybersecurity highlights vulnerabilities of networks and systems

Hyderabad Operational Technology (OT) — the hardware and software that monitors or controls equipment, assets and processes within industrial environments, has become a top target for rapidly growing cyber attacks, the speakers and the delegates at the two-day GCCIA forum on cybersecurity pointed out.

According to the Global IoT/ICS Risk Report, 71 per cent of networks have outdated operating systems that are no longer receiving security updates, 64 per cent are using insecure passwords, and 66 per cent are not updated with the latest antivirus updates.

In wake of the above, The Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority (GCCIA) hosted a two-day forum on cyber security strategies. The event brought together some of the best minds in the industry and stressed the importance of network monitoring and robust physical security to effectively secure OT systems, as well as shed light on the latest strategies, tools, and frameworks to secure industrial control systems (ICS) against cyber attacks.

Ahmed Al Ebrahim, GCCIA CEO, said "It was great connecting with experts from the industry during the course of this forum. Cybersecurity is a pertinent issue, and comprehensive framework and guidelines are essential to minimise system security risk. This forum was an effort to bring to stage latest strategies and tools to secure ICS against cyber attacks, as well as identify a baseline set of controls to improve the cyber-security of a critical infrastructure. I would like to take this opportunity and extend gratitude to all the participants and the speakers for coming together and making this forum a grand success."

Nasser Al Shahrani presented appreciation trophies to the panelists and key speakers at the forum for their invaluable insights and discussions.

Ahmed Amin from Cyber-force, one of the key speakers at the event stressed the importance of backups and stated, "In their response to cyber-attacks, organisations may immediately launch a backup to recover data, then they may be hit again and not have a mitigation plan. Constant backups are essential to disaster recovery."