BIBF forum sounds alarm on Cyber threats

Manama : Raising strong concerns about the escalation in Cyber-attacks causing increasing damage to companies, governments and individuals worldwide, the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) yesterday kick-started the ‘Bahrain Cyber Security Forum & Expo’ under the patronage of the Central Bank of Bahrain.

“Security breaches are massive at the present time,” said BIBF Deputy Director Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh, while reminding the participants about the importance of Cyber Security and its vital role in safe guarding data and information. 

In this regard, the BIBF Deputy Director also warned, “Organisations need to respond to this increased threat by adopting strict Cyber Security measures.”  

He further added that BIBF is keen to enable the national and regional human capital to stay up-to-date in the critical topic of Cyber Security, and that’s the main objective of launching the expo and hosting leading experts in this field. 

The expo, termed as the first of its kind in the kingdom, was attended by the Governor of CBB Rasheed Al Maraj, various executives and senior management representing different organisations in the Kingdom. 

Hosting international experts in the field of Cyber security, the expo provides  participants interactive learning workshops and various short awareness training sessions in addition to exhibiting latest relevant technology trends in the exhibition. 

The three-day forum will conclude tomorrow.

The expo commenced with a welcome note by Ahmed Naeemi, Head of Operations, IT and Project Management at the BIBF. Tony Chew – Chief Security Architect at V-Key (Singapore) was the key note speaker who highlighted the advancement of Cyber-attacks and how this issues has now become a priority for many organisations in order to protect their data and information.

The expo included a panel discussion highlighting why cyber security has become a vital aspect for organizations during our present time and specifically in the Mena Region/Gulf Region.

Organised by the Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF), the forum has Tamkeen as its strategic partner along with National Bank of Bahrain as a gold sponsor and Batelco, Bank of Bahrain & Kuwait (BBK), Kuwait Finance House (KFH) and Bahrain National Holding (BNH) as silver sponsors.