‘Govts should act to protect database’

sharjah — Every country and every government needs to protect their digital database by strengthening investments in the field of cybersecurity, said Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, executive chairman of Sharjah’s Department of Government Relations (DGR) and Chairman of the Higher Committee of Digital Transformation of Sharjah.

His remarks came during the UN Innovation Network’s inaugural event in New York which ran under the title ‘Frontier Technologies for Accelerating Sustainable Development — Opportunity or Barrier to Development’. The event hosted a cross section of speakers including government and UN leaders, academic researchers, private sector innovators, who came together to examine the roles of AI and block chain technology in the roles of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology in achieving the 2030 SDGs.

Sheikh Fahim took part in a panel discussion titled, ‘New technologies, opportunities – What about the risks and threats?’.

He stressed the importance of having an advanced and integrated infrastructure to serve citizenry and businesses through a secure ecosystem of optimised and agile government services.

“In Sharjah, we decided to launch a digital transformation plan a few years ago, and the first thing we did before we started collecting or aggregating any data was to look if governance structures were in place to make sure that these data sets are protected.

“Both in the public and private sectors, we invest tonnes into expanding our digital asset base, be it blockchain, AI or any other frontier technology. We need to popularise the practice of insuring data integrity and security just like other human assets.”