Mideast firms urged to focus on e-security

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=72358

Al Ain 
By Aftab Kazmi
29-12-2002 

E-security is the prime concern of the Internet driven business
environment and Middle Eastern companies should adopt pre-emptive
safety measures to save their assets, a UAE official said here
yesterday.

The awareness of e-business security issues is admittedly low in the
Middle East's corporate world compared with the advanced markets and
this is dangerous, said Dr. Omar bin Sulaiman, Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of the Dubai Internet City.

He was speaking as a keynote speaker at the 'E-Security Solutions
Exhibition', organised by the students of the Al Ain Women's College
(AAWC).

Dr Sulaiman said that e-security is an important pillar to support the
fast pace with which the e-business environment and economy of the UAE
needs to develop.

New approaches, he said, are being adopted by the businesses around
the world to cope with the rising security threats.

"The Internet has created an interconnected world that helps
businesses both save and make money, but it has also opened a huge
electronic window into the core of an organisation's business
operation."

This gives malicious elements a big temptation to disrupt a company's
operations or steal or damage its most valuable asset, information, he
added.

A recent survey in the U.S. has revealed startling evidence of the
rising tide of security threats. Some 90 per cent companies have
detected computer security breaches within the last 12 months.

The survey further pointed out that 80 per cent acknowledged financial
losses took place due to security breaches. About 44 per cent or 223
respondents reported $456 million in financial losses due to the
security breaches, he said.

The CEO said the most businesses in the Middle East merely react to
security threats, rather than assessing risks to manage their security
strategically. "This attitude is dangerous," he said while
highlighting the need for a change in the approach.

He said that companies have to make a strategic commitment to ensure
effective security. Most of the companies in this region (Middle East)  
shy away from making this commitment as can be seen in the widespread
lack of a security budget.

"For companies doing business online, security spending must be an
integral part of overall e-business spending."

He said installing traditional protections, such as firewalls, are
ineffective as hackers and their techniques are continuously becoming
more advanced through technology and learning.

Dr Sulaiman suggested that the best way to ensure e-security is to
contact specialised solution providers as this trend is growing in the
international businesses which realise security is increasingly
becoming a service rather than a product.

"Effective security is best provided by what is known as a Managed
Security Service Provider."

The CEO said the Dubai Internet City is keen to offer its support and
involvement for these new security trends.

"We have been working closely with the region's ICT (Information and
Communication Technologies) industry to identify the security
expertise and infrastructure needs of enterprises."

The DIC, which is already providing e-security solutions through its
subsidiary DataFort, has also been encouraging private sector
companies to launch managed security services.

Earlier, the AAWC's e-security exhibition was opened by the college
Director Dr Neel Mangham. More than 20 business and information
technology security companies and educational institutions, including
universities, exhibited their products and services for safe online
content transfers and transactions.

The activities of the event also included personal development
sessions, online security products and services demonstration,
students' presentations, a technology debate conducted by the Bachelor
Management Information System students, quizzes and games.



-
ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org

To unsubscribe email majordomo () attrition org with 'unsubscribe isn'
in the BODY of the mail.