GCC cybersecurity federation mulled

KUWAIT: The Second GCC Conference on Cybersecurity recommended launching a GCC cybersecurity federation to draw up a unified strategy, set policies and follow up technological developments in fields of cybercrimes. In a press release, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Information Security Society, Dr Safaa Zaman said that the conference came with multiple recommendations to establish government projects related to information security and create a strong security base.

She stressed the need to expand the field of cybersecurity with the concerned authorities in the GCC countries, and the need to reformulate laws related to cybersecurity in a way that suits the rapid changes of technology. Zaman also pointed out that it was also recommended to establish an agreement between GCC countries to exchange basic data and replace foreign application with local application to ensure data protection and privacy. The Second GCC Conference on Cybersecurity was launched on Tuesday, organized by the Kuwaiti Society for Information Security, holding more than 25 lectures and two panel discussion.

EU security forum

In another development, the European Union has invited the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the Arab League, and the African Union among others to participate in the first edition of Schuman Security and Defense Forum in Brussels on March 20-21. The Schuman Forum will bring together the EU’s closest partners in the field of security and defense to exchange on common security challenges and common responses, said a statement released Wednesday by the EU External Action Service.

The Forum is part of the EU’s broader engagement to establish a more coherent and comprehensive network of relationships with international and regional actors and with bilateral partners around the world. The Schuman Forum will take place every two years, it noted. To be held under the authority of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, the Forum will bring together primarily Ministers of Defense from the 27 EU Member States and from 45 partner countries, as well as international and regional organizations with which the EU cooperates on security and defense matters.