Arab countries at threat from potential disruption to their logistics, utility and oil and gas networks

Imagine a scenario where the Gulf's oil and gas pipes are offline for a day, week, month, or even an hour. Imagine the losses across the region if power grids went down. Imagine if airports all over the Middle East were taken offline.

What if this were to happen, and would be the effect on you? Could this happen in today's world?

Two global figures from the security industry will address the region's security managers and the people who are tasked with protecting us, on how to protect the region's SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) measurement and control systems.

Used to perform and control systems found at airports, in the electricity grid, and
throughout the pipeline distribution network, SCADA networks have come under increased scrutiny as they are increasingly seen as being extremely vulnerable to cyber warfare and cyber terrorism attacks.

A pioneer in Europe, Raoul Chiesa was recognized as one of the key members of the European and North American hacker scene in the mid-90s.

The founder of Blackhats.it, Chiesa will be presenting at the region's only dedicated network security conference, HITBSecConf, alongside fellow Italian security evangelist Alessio Pennasilico, member of a number of security focused organizations including AIPSI, AIP, OpenBeer, and Hacker's Profiling Project.

'Only a couple of years back the power went down in Dubai, and a similar event happened in Bahrain before that. Businesses lost tens of millions of dollars due to the power outages. The losses, both economically and in terms of human casualties, of any cyber attack would be enormous, and governments and public institutions need to be aware, they need to be ready, and they need to be prepared for the worst case scenario for the welfare of their citizens,' said Chiesa.

Under the auspices of His Excellency Mohammed Nasser Al-Ghanim, Director General of the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the only security event in the Middle East promises to uncover even more weaknesses in today's technology infrastructure and explain to regional security experts how to tackle these threats head on.

'We're here in Dubai to address the major issues of today, including cyber terrorism and to raise awareness in a region of the world that is particularly vulnerable to security lapses. By bringing the best of the best, we hope to do our part to ensure that the Middle East is ready to repel even the worst cyber attacks,' said Hack In The Box (M) Sdn Bhd Founder and CEO Dhillon Andrew Kannabhiran, organiser of the HITBSecConf
series.

The conference, to be held on the 16-17th of April in Dubai's Sheraton Hotel will host speakers and representatives from leading security and telecommunications companies such as IBM, Oger Systems, Scanit Middle East, Google, Microsoft, Motorola, BlueInfy, ArgenISS, and Telspace Systems.