MEITSEC 2004 emphasize on IT security advancements

In addition, the conference discussed the challenges this field has been facing and the benefits of learning from the past in order to move forward.

Dr. Doaa Fares, General Manager, Etisalat Academy said: 'This event has proposed an ideal opportunity for experts and professionals to discuss the many developments and solutions on IT security, which is a fundamental problem on an internationally level.'

'On a regional level, some of the Arab countries do not realize the dangers facing industries, businesses and investments if there technical systems where hacked. Our duty, during this conference, is to draw their attention to this issue,' added fares.

Abdul Karim Riyaz, Business Technologist, Computer Associates, said : ' The Arab countries MEITSEC is a great opportunity for IT security vendors to launch a dialogue with IT professionals and decision makers in the region. This initiative helps build awareness on one of the most pressing and important topics in the IT industry today, which is security. The Etisalat Academy, through MEITSEC is fulfilling one of the most important IT requirements in the region, which is awareness and education of the various segments of the market, be it students, businesses or IT professionals.'

' We as CA, have tremendous experience on combating new threats and securing some of the largest organizations in the world. We have an insight into key security challenges faced by CIO's and CSO's from many companies across the globe. We would be glad to use this opportunity to share this with the IT and security managers from Arab World organizations,' Mr. Riyaz added.

Speaking about the challenges facing IT security, Riyaz said : 'Lack of awareness among end-users is actually one of the biggest challenges not only for CA but also the IT industry as a whole. At a home user level, Social engineering techniques that, for example, exploits people's online habits of responding on various call to action email, are one of the most critical security issues. In most cases home PC's do not have the adequate protection to counter such threats. On the business side, the regional approach towards limiting security investments and attention to the network level is a big challenge. Much awareness and attention needs to be given to other aspects of an organization's IT infrastructure, especially in managing user identities and access to critical internal systems. Another challenge is the limited availability of IT professionals who have a business mindset, allowing him or her to recognize the threats and risks that are specific to the business process of his/her company, rather than treating security as a generic principle.'

According to Kevin Isaac, Regional Director of Symantec, Middle East and Africa, International companies face challenges in every sub-region, and it is the responsibility of the local team to ensure that they are in tune with the market demands and particular requirements of their region. Tailoring security software to languages other than English or developing spam fighting tools which can block non English language spam is a challenge that Symantec has taken on and is working hard to address. We have launched one Arabized product this year, and are working adapting other products into Arabic to best suit the region.

Ahmed Abdul Karim Julfar, General Manager, eCompany -Etisalat's one stop e-power house business unit, said : ' MEITSEC has now firmly established itself as the premier IT security event in the Middle east. The quality of the speakers has been excellent and the insightful debates have helped to increase awareness of best practices and experiences from around the world. We are very happy to participate and support Etisalat Academy in this significant regional event.'