Qatar has devised vigorous policies for boosting nation’s security from formulating National Cyber Security Strategy to Cybercrime Prevention Law and reaching out to INTERPOL

Qatar has devised vigorous policies for boosting nation’s security from formulating National Cyber Security Strategy to Cybercrime Prevention Law and reaching out to INTERPOL. Regardless of its concrete efforts, the steady cyber threats on Qatar represents that the current initiatives are not adequate and additional robust measures are imperative for the progress of the country. And as a host of the 2022 Federation International Football Association (FIFA) World Cup, it is consequential for Qatar to be proactive in its security 49. The expanding cyber issues are due to the deficit consciousness and readiness of organizations to repel vulnerabilities. To interpret cyber threats, a national database of cyber incidents should be maintained and collaborated with different companies in a country and with other nations as well.
It is indispensable to increase threat intelligence by sharing information on cyber incidents to save the critical infrastructure with similar kind of threats in future. Although Qatar’s cybersecurity team has already developed the Threat Monitoring System (TMS) in 2011, 50 it is not enough to ensure resilient operations against the pertinent threats that are emerging. Most of the countries are reticent to share attack information fearing that they will become apparent targets in future which further damages the reputation of the organization 51. Every country is facing the same problem of cyber threats, and if the experiences are shared then better solutions can be found with collaboration. So, inventive ways must be developed to solve the problem of sharing cyber incidents information. Like, United States has passed a law that it gives legal protection against lawsuits to the companies who share threat data 52. These kinds of policies assist in collecting current and emerging security threats information. Which can be used to create secured threat-intelligence sharing forums worldwide to tackle the attacks and help each other to be insightful for prospective attacks.
Furthermore, the importance of cybersecurity and the associated dangers of using Internet of Things (IoTs) are necessary to be taught in educational institutions to minimize the occurrence of incidents. Specialized courses in cybersecurity, such as Bachelor in Cybersecurity, can be initiated in higher education institutions and universities. Awareness campaigns, educative seminars and practical workshops on cybersecurity should be conducted to make young generation as future cybersecurity professionals. Interested students should be encouraged and supported by proper teaching by hiring experts from worldwide. Those students who want to enhance their knowledge in cybersecurity should be sent abroad for learning new techniques of protecting cyberspace. Guidelines on prevention and detection of cyber incidents is imperative in every sector because sophisticated and destructive attacks are being originated every day targeting cross-border nations.
Another method to improve cybersecurity workforce is to inspect the cybersecurity organizations appropriately with unconventional test cases. The agencies which don’t meet the criteria of absolute security mechanisms must not be certified by the government. This process of strong internal auditing of the organizations ensures that the security is in right hands. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility and hence there should be close co-operation between government and private agencies to fight against cyber-attacks. Beyond certification of organizations, a nation must establish its own security strategies instead of relying on third-party security procedures. The practice of depending on others for protecting a country’s privacy is expensive and uncertain. Equally, there is high demand of cybersecurity experts. So, the cybersecurity professionals should be given accomplished training to develop a vigilant cyber protection team which analyses, monitors and mitigates possible cyber threats through proactive research and innovative security tools. Those experts should perform repetitive testing of own websites and systems that triggers goal towards powerful cybersecurity framework.
In today’s undeniable technological evolution cyberspace usage lack legal analyses, rights to privacy and data protection 53. Although technical measures prove successful in defending cyber-attacks, legal standards are inevitable to prevent an attacker before intending to target any country. A strict policy must be drafted to penalize online criminals in such a way that the attacks are mitigated fully. Take for example, people in Qatar, United Kingdom, and Florida do not dare to break the traffic rules due to the sharp retributions that are incorporated in traffic rules violation law 54. Every nation must initiate and maintain self-regulatory legal procedures to combat against the misuse cyberspace in furtherance to prevent and deter the rapid growth of cybercrime. However, such systems should be supported by international legislation as well 55. Since cybercrime crosses borders of all states, prosecution of offenders is difficult. Therefore, foreign corporation is needed 56. These measures are not only beneficial to Qatar but are worthwhile to every nation in the world.
To meet all these cyber security objectives, investment must be accelerated into the right things to create awareness on the global level to security professionals and users also. Recently a report by US Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity, which was published in Dec 2016 emphasized that federal agencies need to increase the funding up to $4 billion in the coming decade 57. The report also intensified that more working professionals are required along with increased number of resources to meet the challenge of securing the nation. Moreover, on May 11, 2017 President of US has ordered to strengthen the cybersecurity of Federal Networks and Critical Infrastructure which will be beneficial for virtually all medium and large-sized businesses operating in the United States 58. If such a powerful nation is taking cybersecurity as a pressing issue in assuring the growth of a digital economy, then it is also vital for other countries to inspect its cyber defenses.
V. CONCLUSION
Like Qatar, any developing nation in the world can be potential for cyber-attacks. Vulnerabilities are ubiquitous, and these problems will be intensified in future. Regional agreements and local legislation are not sufficient to deter increasing incidents of cyber-attacks against sovereign states. To cope up with national and international cyber issues, strategic collaborations from all over the world is needed for the development of a cyber-ready workforce. Internationally accredited cyber defense organizations are essential to improve information security competency dramatically. Therefore, an international resolve is a necessary tool to address the upcoming threats.