BAHRAIN is stepping up cyber security measures as over 50 million attempts to breach government systems were registered in the last 18 months.
The Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) is in the process of deploying high-tech technology that will act as an early notification system to detect and contain threats and protect sensitive government data from ‘keyboard’ armies.
iGA chief executive Mohamed Al Qaed told the GDN that since February last year the authority has foiled over 5 million viruses and 2.7 million spam e-mails along with over 50 million data breach attempts.
“In the past 18 months, iGA has detected and prevented over 2,700,000 e-mails containing spam, over 5,000,000 viruses and over 50,000,000 breach attempts targeting government networks,” he said.
He said the authority has registered a “consistent spike” in cyber attacks when Bahrain was hosting major events or conferences with a global reach.
“The iGA has recorded a consistent spike in cyber attacks during particular annual events and public holidays (in Bahrain),” he said.
“Appropriate security measures are taken during the dates surrounding these events.”
He did not reveal the parties behind the spate of cyber attacks, but said the country’s cyber security systems were “being improved all the time in co-ordination with the IT departments of all government entities”.
“iGA constantly seeks to further enhance the security levels of the government’s information technology (IT) infrastructure,” he added.
Hackers from different countries, including Iran, have been targeting vital installations in Bahrain and are even attacking cloud databases.
In the latest incidents, Iranian hackers reportedly infiltrated “critical infrastructure and government computers” on August 5 and July 25.
While in March a major data breach was registered at the BDF Hospital and in other government and private entities were victims of attacks in recent months. To promote awareness about data breaches, the iGA operates a Cyber Hawks initiative, with membership from more than 50 government entities.
“The aim of this is to enhance co-ordination and co-operation among themselves, detect potential cyber security breaches in advance, and contain them as soon as possible,” explained Mr Al Qaed.
He also revealed that the iGA was planning to roll out new technology to further strengthen their IT systems against hackers.
Response
The roll out of the Advanced Endpoint Protection Solution is in response to directives by the Supreme Committee for Information and Communication Technology (SCICT).
“This will greatly improve government IT operations, and we are currently focused on building the tools and competencies necessary to ensure that our cloud-based services are protected by this world-class security solution,” said Mr Al Qaed.
He said the authority was committed to building a cyber smart society with an “open, fair and secure cyber space” able to contain risks while maintaining the flexibility needed for growth.
He added that the biggest challenge facing this was building the necessary skills to match both the latest technology and the latest security threats.
“Another major issue is staff retention as there’s a big demand for cyber security talent in the jobs market,” he said.
“However, we don’t view it as a challenge but an opportunity which can be tackled by promoting cyber security research and innovation, with the aim of turning the kingdom into a centre of excellence in the region.”
Based on latest iGA statistics, an average of 70pc of cyber attacks that target government entities were via messages which seize e-mails.
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