Cyber attackers ‘frequently targeting Bahrain’s main economic sectors’

Bahrain has been under constant cyber-attacks as attackers have intensified their efforts in the past few months, according to a senior government official.

The past few years have seen a considerable escalation in cyber-attacks against Bahraini government and private entities, according to Information & eGovernment Authority (IGA) Chief Executive Mohamed Ali AlQaed. He also mentioned that IGA has not had any issues in dealing with the attacks, and that so far all attacks have been dealt with successfully without it causing any downtime to government or private entities.

“Bahrain and this whole region have been under attack constantly in the past few years and we have been dealing with them as needed. The positive aspect is that there has been no major downtime because of these attacks. “Organisations and businesses did not have to close for any considerable period of time because of these attacks. Normal operations across the country have continued despite these attacks,” he told Tribune.

When asked how often the attacks happened, he said, “There is always an attack whether it is an attack using an email with an attachment or something similar. We are dealing with this effectively.” Responding to a question on the most targeted sectors in Bahrain, the official said, “The most targeted are the biggest sectors, such as electricity, banking sectors and the like.”