Your Excellency Engineer Mohamed bin Omar,

Secretary-General of the Arab Organisation for Communication and Information Technologies,

Your Excellency Mr. Osama Kamal,

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mercury Communications,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to announce the opening of the International Conference on Information Security and Cybersecurity in its third edition, held under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Allow me to begin by extending my sincere appreciation to the Arab Organisation for Communication and Information Technologies and to Mercury Communications for their support. Their successful cooperation has established this forum, bringing together specialists from various countries, organisations, and the private sector to discuss the latest trends in information security technology and cybersecurity.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The digital world has undoubtedly become a full-fledged parallel world. In terms of the intensity of activities and the multiplicity and complexity of the fields it encompasses, it is no less significant than the real world—if not more so. Trade, scientific research, entertainment, social communication, government services, and many other activities now pass through the digital world and its numerous platforms. We have all witnessed how the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a massive and steady increase in the volume of digital presence and the use of its various applications.

As much as digital technology has brought many positive aspects and gains in the fields of trade, education, and various government services, it also entails new and unexpected risks. It has revealed weak points in security systems for companies, governments, and people. Cybersecurity has become an essential pillar of national security for countries, and the security of societies, individuals, and economic entities.

Cyber wars have become an existing reality, a weapon used by states as well as non-state actors, including groups engaged in destructive and criminal activities. It is an extremely effective weapon due to the dependence of many modern life systems on technology and digital networks, making them vulnerable to deadly attacks or extortion crimes like ransomware.

With this in mind, cybersecurity has become a concept that extends far beyond protecting messages and electronic financial and administrative transactions. It also includes data security and storage. A great deal can be extracted from available data by analysing an individual’s behaviour and the content they consume on social media platforms. Some actors in the internet world use data to increase their profits, while others use it to implement soft policies that dilute the basic values and principles of societies through elaborate disinformation campaigns, falsifying facts, and harming the mental health of young people in pursuit of enormous profits.

The lessons learned from young people’s use of social media platforms, especially after the dangerous events of 2011, revealed the enormous impact of the spread of misinformation, calls for violence and hatred, and speeches questioning the integrity of people and national institutions. These new dangers are likely to increase as the spread of artificial intelligence technology and its advanced development continue to provide criminal and terrorist organisations with extraordinary capabilities and skills to carry out cyberattacks and false and disinformation campaigns.

In light of all this, an urgent question has arisen: How do we protect our societies from a danger that transcends state borders, a danger in which it is difficult to determine the identity of the criminal and the nature and extent of the crime, given the great possibilities that the world of cybercrime provides for deniability and concealment of the attacker’s identity?

Certainly, we need to build new and appropriate capabilities to strengthen our technological defense lines with innovative approaches that are constantly updated to adapt to emerging risks.

As specialists, you all realise that cybersecurity cannot be separated from traditional security fields. Cybercrimes target all security, economic, and social sectors, aiming to influence all segments of society, especially young people. These crimes are also closely linked to other areas such as extortion, ransom demands, dark web crimes, and drugs. However, large segments of Arab society are not sufficiently aware of the seriousness of these crimes. They lack the information and skills necessary to protect their personal lives and data, often treating this dangerous threat with a degree of disdain due to their lack of knowledge. From this standpoint, I call for launching awareness campaigns to alert Arab citizens and various Arab institutions to the importance of protecting data from the dangers of cybercrime.

At the level of joint Arab action, and in recognition of the importance of these challenges, we placed this crucial topic on the agenda of the Fourth Arab Summit in Beirut in 2019 within the “Arab Digital Transformation” file. The summit issued a decision tasking the League of Arab States with developing a joint vision in the fields of information technology, the digital economy, and cybersecurity.

This issue received special attention from the League of Arab States and its specialised organisations. The Supreme Coordination Committee for Joint Arab Action, a committee that includes all Arab organisations and unions, focused its efforts on developing an Arab vision and initiating a path of cooperation on cybersecurity. I assigned the Arab Organisation for Communication and Information Technologies to take the lead on this subject. Thankfully, it has achieved tangible results, including preparing the Arab vision for cybersecurity, which I had the honour of launching in October 2021 in Tunisia. The organisation has also established, in cooperation with various companies, numerous events, including this important forum.

In this regard, I note that this conference will witness the launch of the Arab strategy for cybersecurity, prepared by the organisation and approved by the Council of Arab Ministers for Communication and Information at its recent meeting in Abu Dhabi. Additionally, there are many activities established by Arab organisations and unions, which I do not have the space to detail here.

In the same context, and to strengthen the Arab system with a specialised body for cybersecurity governance, the recent Arab summit approved the Saudi initiative to establish an Arab ministerial council for cybersecurity, supported by a permanent technical secretariat based in Riyadh. I hope we will witness its launch as soon as possible so that it can carry out its assigned tasks. I believe this council will be an exceptional addition to the Arab system for enhancing cybersecurity, by supporting coordination between Arab governments in this field, and providing the capabilities to exchange expertise, experiences, and best practices.

Thank you, and I wish you every success.

May God’s peace and mercy be upon you.