Archived Newsroom • Press Release |
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Technical drill boosts cybersecurity capacity in Arab
region
ITU-IMPACT-Oman Initiative trains 12 response teams
Geneva, 24 October 2013 – The ITU-IMPACT Regional
Cybersecurity Centre in Muscat, Oman conducted the second cyber drill for the
Arab region from 22 to 24 October. National Computer Incident Response Teams
(CIRT) from twelve countries – Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania,
Morocco, Oman, Sudan, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia –participated in the
cyber drill.
The regional forum kicked-off with a series of presentations on the Global
Cybersecurity Index (GCI), Cybersecurity Landscape, Child Online Protection,
Mobile Security, and Forensics Investigation. The workshops were conducted by
the forum’s strategic partner, ABI Research, as well as Bitdefender, Nuix, and
The Cyber Guardian as supporting partners.
Regional and international cooperation is a key element in mitigating cyber
threats. ITU and its cybersecurity executing arm, the International Multilateral
Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT), organized the two-day drill to
foster communications between national CIRTs in the region and enhance their
readiness and capabilities to respond to cyber threats.
Called ALERT (Applied Learning for Emergency Response Teams), the drill
focused on Incident Handling and Response, Malware Analysis, Vulnerability
Assessment, Penetration Testing, Mining Data, Visualization, Forensics
Investigation, and Mobile Malware.
“A proactive approach is needed to strengthen regional cybersecurity
capabilities,” said ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun I. Touré. “This cyber drill
for the Arab region was a timely response to recent developments in the region
where the rise in Internet penetration is being compromised by spikes in
cyber-attacks.”
“Wealth creation and political governance together with critical
infrastructure are constantly being challenged by ever evolving threats in
cyberspace,” Chairman of IMPACT Datuk Mohd Noor Amin said. “As the nation’s
first line of defence against cyber threats, CIRT members must constantly
acquire and update their knowledge and skills to be effective. And this cyber
drill succeeded in imparting a higher level of training and experience in
incident handling.”
ITU-IMPACT brings together governments, academia, and industry experts to
enhance the global community’s capabilities to deal with cyber threats. Together
with 146 partner countries and 38 partners from the industry, academia, and
international organizations, ITU-IMPACT forms the world’s largest cybersecurity
coalition. It seeks to strengthen global cybersecurity measures and helps
nations develop worldwide strategies against cyber threats.
For more information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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Philip Victor
Director, Policy and International Cooperation
IMPACT
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About ITU...
About IMPACT
The International Multilateral
Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) is the cybersecurity executing
arm of the United Nations' specialized agency – the International
Telecommunication Union. As the world’s first UN-backed comprehensive
alliance against cyber threats, IMPACT brings together governments, academia and
industry experts to enhance the global community’s capabilities in dealing with
cyber threats. Based in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, IMPACT is the operational home of
ITU’s Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA). IMPACT provides ITU’s 193 Member
States access to expertise, facilities and resources to effectively address
cyber threats, as well as assisting United Nations agencies in protecting their
ICT infrastructures.
www.impact-alliance.org