RIYADH — The virtual dialogue of the Global Cybersecurity Forum organized by the National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) will be launched tomorrow, under the title (What Now, What Next) with the participation of more than 20 international high-level speakers.

The organization of the virtual dialogue is an extension of the success of the International Cybersecurity Forum, which was held in February 2020, coinciding with the Kingdom's presidency of the G20 for 2020.

Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense, had announced in the forum two initiatives related to protecting children in the cyber world and empowering women in the field of cybersecurity.

A number of experts in the cybersecurity are participating in the current forum, including Craig Jones, director of cybercrime unit at INTERPOL; Bernardo Mariano, chief information officer at the World Health Organization (WHO); Dr. Nannette Hechler-Fayd'herbe, chief investment officer at Credit Suisse; Kevin Mandia, CEO of FireEye; Monique Shivanandan, chief information security officer at HSBC, and Alan Paller, research director and founder at SANS Institute.

The agenda of the virtual dialogue includes a number of vital and important topics, including two panel discussions entitled the implications of cyber threats during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the importance of protecting vital infrastructure and sustainable methods to maintain confidence in the emerging technologies.

The virtual dialogue will also shed light on the cyber implications of the pandemic on the health and financial sectors.

The organization of the virtual dialogue comes within the framework of achieving the NCA's objectives towards strengthening partnerships and international cooperation.

The dialogue also hopes to raise awareness about the most important issues related to cybersecurity coinciding with the growing importance of cybersecurity, cyber threats facing the world, and the great efforts made by the Kingdom to consolidate its cybersecurity towards a safe and reliable Saudi cyberspace that enables growth and prosperity and exploits many economic and development opportunities emanated from the rapid technological changes. — SPA