RIYADH: The National Cybersecurity Authority staged an exhibition in Riyadh on Monday to raise awareness of its work and the need to protect the Kingdom’s computer networks and systems from attack.
The event, titled “Mobile Exhibition for Awareness of Cybersecurity” and aimed primarily at employees of national authorities, featured four pavilions covering everything from hacking methods and improving cybersecurity awareness, to consultations, discussions and the role of the NCA.
The authority said the event “comes within the framework of its strategic role in raising awareness of cybersecurity to protect the vital interests of the Kingdom, sensitive infrastructure, and government services and activities.”
It also sought to raise the level of awareness among workers “in order to maintain the confidentiality of sensitive information … review hackers’ methods, as well as supporting authorities in promoting the values of preserving national security and personal data.”
Saad Haj Bakry, professor of computer engineering at King Saud University, said: “The challenges to the safety of cyberspace are countless and they come from many sources.
Saad Haj Bakry, professor of computer engineering at King Saud University. (Supplied)
“But protection measures that can reduce or eliminate these challenges are also great. These are usually expressed by cybersecurity governance controls that should be used at the individual level, the organization level, as well as the country level.”
The internet was central to e-government and e-commerce services, social networks and working from home, Bakry said.
“The success of cyberspace in all these activities depends upon its safety, which is the protection of its security.”
He added: “Since its establishment in 2017, the NCA has been highly active in finding, recommending and implementing ways to protect cyberspace in Saudi Arabia. As a result, in 2020, Saudi Arabia ranked second among 193 countries in the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index.”
