BUSINESS

Cyber defense of industrial sector critical for Saudi Arabia, says SANS

November 08, 2017
Ned Baltagi
Ned Baltagi

RIYADH — With digitization of the economy a cornerstone of Saudi Vision 2030, SANS, the global leader in information security training, has emphasized the need for the Kingdom to develop its talent pool of home-grown cyber security experts who are professionally trained and certified. This is particularly true for the Industrial sector as recent large-scale attacks in the country have specifically targeted the Oil & Gas and Government segments. This is highlighted by a recent SANS report which found that 69% of global organizations believe the level of threats to industrial control systems (ICS) is now high or severely critical.

Saudi Arabia has been the prime target for many of the Middle East’s largest cyber-attacks and researchers at the National Centre for Cyber Security at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology estimated an average of over 164,000 attacks per day in the Kingdom . “There is a clear need to ramp up cyber security skills in the Kingdom and we are deeply committed to arming IT professionals with the knowledge and tools they need to protect their organizations,” said Ned Baltagi, Managing Director, Middle East & Africa at SANS Institute.

SANS Institute is set to conduct a cyber security training event in Al-Khobar on Dec. 2-7, 2017 which will feature two of the Institute’s most widely acclaimed courses tackling cyber security essentials, and diving deep into the protection of Industrial Control Systems (ICS). Both courses are classroom style trainings that are heavily geared towards hands-on practice. SEC401: Security Essentials Bootcamp Style covers a wide range of security essentials including networking, cyber defenses, secure communications, and operating system security, while also preparing participants for the GSEC certification.

Commenting on SANS Institute’s decision to offer ICS410: ICS/SCADA Security Essentials, Baltagi said “historically, ICS systems have been designed chiefly with automation and reliability in mind. But given that Shamoon and other internet-based attacks specifically targeted the industrial sector in the Kingdom, we are keen to help organizations harden their ICS defenses. By attending our training course, IT professionals will be able to increase the availability, reliability and safety of their ICS systems while reducing the business risk from cyber threats.”

The training event will take place at the Sofitel Al Khobar and participants can register for their preferred course by visiting: https://www.sans.org/event/sans-khobar-2017 — SG


November 08, 2017
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