Minister of Interior Lt-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa patronised here today the Bahrain Information Security Forum 2015, the first of its kind to be held in Bahrain.
The event was attended by the Interior Ministry Undersecretary for Nationality, Passport and Residence Affairs, the President of Customs, the Chief of Public Security, the four governors, the Interior Ministry Undersecretary and a number of senior officials. Organised by the Central Informatics Organisation (CIO), the event attracted a number of IT experts from the public and private sectors.
CIO President Dr. Mohammed Al Amer thanked and appreciated the Interior Minister for his support and highlighted the increasing use of IT by the government as well as the increase in daily data exchange between the government and other bodies, which exceeded 3000 GB per day in 2014. This is considered as the success of the government strategy towards e-transformation.
He said that the CIO, through the centre launched at the beginning of 2014 to respond to computer emergency, fought several cyber attacks and hacking attempts on a daily basis.
The Interior Minister asserted during the forum the importance of information security to deal with comprehensive threats that could affect organisations and individuals anytime and without warning. He said that such threats posed risks to government and private organisations as well as individuals. "The threats reached such a high level that they could control the behaviour of others from a distance. These threats included digital drugs which posed the same dangers to people as narcotic addiction. Although individuals could get such information and music for free in the first phase, after that it is for a price," he warned.
He said that science was meant to serve people but some people exploited it and therefore society needed to be protected from this comprehensive threat, adding: "We are unaware of the risks from the devices we carry."
The Minister stressed the importance of the forum and urged people to benefit from its programmes and workshops to get information and expertise. "We should protect society, especially the youth, as they are the main group that use modern technology," he said while highlighting the importance of awareness campaigns at schools and for parents for the best use of technology.
"Protection begins by securing individuals, society and the State through technical capability. This matter is of great importance to the nation and the government and is being coordinated within the GCC framework to deal with the issue," he said, while hoping for more such meetings to develop the internal systems of the CIO and the government and private organisations.
The Interior Minister also honoured the speakers and participants at the forum’s eight workshops and sessions that discussed issues relating to information security.