Top Bahrain technology companies not immune to cyber attacks, says experts

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Reported by Zahra Ayaz

A significant breach has raised concerns about the sophistication of state-sponsored cyber threats and the security of major tech companies. In a recent cyber security breach, the systems of Microsoft, one of the largest technology companies in the world, were hacked by a Russian state-sponsored group known as “Midnight Blizzard,” according to a report by The Sun.

The Daily Tribune reached out to AI experts to gather their opinions on the matter and to assess the potential for a similar incident to occur in Bahrain. Ahmed Albalooshi, CEO of Fintech IT Consultations and Certified in Industry 4.0 Technologies, highlighted the challenges faced by even the largest technology companies in dealing with cyber security threats.

He explained that state-sponsored actors like Midnight Blizzard employ advanced and stealthy hacking techniques to remain undetected, making it difficult to anticipate and guard against every possible attack vector.

Albalooshi emphasised the need for continuous vigilance, advanced threat detection capabilities, and a proactive security posture to mitigate such breaches. He stressed that Bahrain is not immune to cyber security threats and must embrace digital transformation cautiously, implementing robust cybersecurity measures and continuous monitoring.

“Sectors such as government, finance, and telecommunications were identified as high-priority areas due to their importance and the valuable data they possess. International collaboration, adherence to cybersecurity standards, and awareness campaigns were deemed crucial in maintaining a strong cybersecurity posture,” he added. Additionally, response plans and swift breach identification and mitigation capabilities were emphasized as essential components of Bahrain’s cyber defence strategy.

Data breaches and vulnerabilities

Meanwhile, Dr. Jassim Haji, a Bahraini AI expert, provided a comprehensive analysis to The Daily Tribune, citing several high-profile Microsoft data breaches and vulnerabilities reported in the past 24 months.

These incidents have affected millions of users and organisations, raising further concerns about the security of major tech companies. Dr. Haji highlighted a Microsoft data breach by the Lapsus$ group in March 2022, which compromised Cortana and Bing. In another incident, the misconfiguration of Microsoft Power apps led to a massive data leak, exposing approximately 38 million records from over 47 companies that had stored their data on publicly accessible platforms.

Dr. Jassim says that recent incidents raise concerns over the security of Outlook mailboxes in the Kingdom. Cybersecurity experts warn that Bahrain faces similar risks and must prioritize cybersecurity preparedness, infrastructure resilience, and effective incident response. Continuous improvement in cybersecurity practices is crucial to addressing the threat landscape.