Global cybersecurity forum in Riyadh calls for more resources to police the online world

RIYADH: A speaker at the Global Cybersecurity Forum warned Wednesday that cybercrime is set to wreak havoc on corporate top lines as calls for more resources to monitor the online world .

Attendees at the event, held in Riyadh, learned that hacker losses are expected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025, as well as theft, network downtime, and soaring insurance premiums.

Abdurrahman Al-Fagui, deputy CEO of Saudi Basic Industries, said the alert was growing as the company battled more and more attacks.

“At the organizational level, it impacts revenue and costs. For example, cyberattacks have reduced organizational revenue by 5-10%.

“Downtime to resolve a cyberattack can take up to 45 days.In addition, insurance costs have increased significantly, making costs unpredictable,” he added.

Khaled Al-Dhaher, deputy governor for administration and technology at the Saudi central bank, urged companies to invest wisely in technology.

He pointed out that investments in firewalls and security middleware with the right governance approach and capabilities can go a long way in detecting and troubleshooting the growing threats.

“It will have the right impact on your cybersecurity strategy. Continued investment in innovation is needed to address these evolving conditions, and having threat intelligence is critical,” said Al-Dhaher. said.

And he said companies cannot fight in isolation.

“This is a fight against criminals who want to harm us, so cooperation between different entities is essential,” he added.

The forum heard that one of the most affected industries in cyberspace is the financial sector, especially the crypto community, which has suffered cybersecurity issues.

Event speakers said there is a growing need for innovation in the financial sector, which has recently introduced user-friendly measures such as open banking.

Al-Dhaher says: Artificial intelligence can help predict, protect and minimize impacts. ”

According to Alex Liu, managing partner and chairman of global management consulting firm Carney, Saudi Arabia was aware of the threat and was gearing up to fight cybercrime.

He said the Kingdom has made great strides in its commitment to combating cyberattacks and Saudi Arabia ranks second in the Global Cybersecurity Index among countries committed to cybersecurity.

“I’m impressed that the Kingdom came in second in just two years. I think it’s because of the urgency and positivity,” he added.

Liu said cybersecurity is one of the three risks facing countries and businesses, and there is a need to increase the urgency to combat it.

In a separate panel session, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim, suggested the world needs an additional 3.4 million cybersecurity professionals to combat the rise in online crime. Did.

he said: Now there are about 4.7 million professionals, but he still has 3.4 million vacancies. He added that malware is being released every 4.2 seconds of his.

“Calculating this 4.2 seconds for a week, we find that 144,000 malware applications are released each week. It is the government’s responsibility to set standards and guidelines to ensure that cybersecurity is uncompromised.” .”

Citing a UN report, the minister noted that the world’s population will reach eight billion by November 15, with population growth calling for increased funding for cybersecurity initiatives by governments. said.

he said: a billion. This is more than his 173% of total African Gross Domestic Product and includes 53 countries. ”

Ibrahim added that by 2025, the total amount lost to cybercrime will reach $10.5 trillion.

Highlighting the findings of the Accenture report, he said a cyberattack occurs somewhere in the world every 39 seconds.

“These attacks can target individuals, sometimes the private sector, or the public sector.

“Furthermore, I think the key here is the need to achieve cybersecurity maturity and most importantly, to achieve cybersecurity immunity.

“We must reach a point where when people attack, what they lose is more than the damage and cost to the institutions that attack them,” added Ibrahim.

He said cybersecurity methods require a proactive approach as technology advances daily.

Law enforcement agencies are currently ill-equipped to effectively deal with cross-border crime such as cybercrime, said Craig Jones, cybercrime chief at Interpol, a global police organization. said.

He notes that Interpol has determined that it is easier to deal with commodity-based crimes such as drug and human trafficking because they fit into a particular jurisdiction’s policing model, unlike cybercrime. Did.

“Laws vary from country to country. If you look at the European Union, 27 member states have joint laws, joint voices and joint political initiatives to deal with and combat cybercrime.

“But when you spread it around the world, you have different priorities. Some countries don’t even have the necessary laws. We will try to identify, prosecute and extradite these criminals,” Jones added.

He also spoke about the police’s role in fighting cybercrime.

“The role of the police is to protect the community. The police are drawn from the community. The policing model was basically set up to deal with local problems. It is local and the victim is local.

“Then we can create legislation and laws that can be implemented by law enforcement agencies in their countries.”

In terms of law enforcement, he emphasized INTERPOL’s role in its 195 Member States.

Mr Jones said:

“We are looking from a global to local perspective. How can Interpol support and coordinate activities and operations? We do it with technology.”

Marco Goerke, an international expert in the legal field related to cybercrime, who participated in the same panel, said that financial gain is often the driver, and that criminals are taking advantage of advances in digitization. said.

“They are starting to realize they can make a lot of money by participating in this. The business model has changed. But it is very lucrative and fairly easy to set up. , does not have to be an organized crime business that has been in the market for a long time.

“On the one hand, we will have the right laws in place, we will take appropriate self-defense measures as a company and as a nation, and we will change the way we behave, use our devices, and protect ourselves. We have to be smart, we have to respond to this growing threat,” added Goerke.