Head of NCSA’s National Cyber Initiatives Assurance Department Tells QNA: National Cyber Drills Vital Tool in Identifying, Addressing Loopholes.

Doha: Head of National Cyber Initiatives Assurance Department at the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), Mohammed Murshid Al Mannai, emphasized that the 11th edition of the National Cyber Drill, themed "Zero-Day Survival," is a vital tool to identify loopholes and address them, along with the effectiveness of response and healing strategies to reduce impacts on society, the economy, and the sustainability of national stability. According to Qatar News Agency, Al Mannai added that the drill brought together nearly 1,600 participants from 170 entities representing over 10 vital sectors. It was intended to gauge the efficiency of preparedness to address cyber threats, in terms of cybersecurity triage readiness, notably the human element, technology, operations, and testing the participating entities' readiness in dealing with undeclared loopholes exploited by hackers without the knowledge of victims. He pointed out that owing to the perils posed by these loopholes, they had been chosen to be the theme of th e last edition of this drill. He highlighted that all cyber drills carried out since 2013 aim to bolster readiness to address cyber incidents domestically, advance the capability of various institutions in managing cyber crises to be able to analyze and detect intrusions and handle them in alignment with the National Cybersecurity Strategy 2024-2030, along with the core pillars of human, corporate, and economic development of the Qatar National Vision 2030. He highlighted that for the first time, the latest edition gathered entities from the GCC states, cybersecurity service providers, as well as students competing in the Capture the Flag contest, stating that the edition featured multiple tests to advance their capabilities accordingly. The NCSA's teams set four scenarios for this drill as per the nature of each participating entity and its mechanism of operation. The first scenario was devoted to interagency personnel in the country, with the second scenario being more challenging and designed in an advan ced approach, dedicated to cyber service providers. Additionally, the third scenario focused on students with the objective of helping them oversee loopholes that should have been overcome during the drill, with the fourth scenario dedicated to participants from GCC states. Regarding the Gulf cyber drill, Al Mannai elucidated that it was the third event to be hosted by Doha as part of the State of Qatar's commitment in the ministerial cybersecurity committee of the GCC states, in which a contingent of experts and professionals from GCC states had participated. He highlighted that the most salient objectives of the Gulf drill were to elevate the states' readiness to counter cyber threats, as well as share expertise among personnel of cybersecurity apparatuses in the GCC states. Al Mannai stated that the evaluation and verification procedures for entities participating in the drill commence immediately following the end of the event, which are based on limited domestic criteria, such as policies, frameworks, and laws, along with global criteria which include the best practices pursued in this framework. He noted that the outcomes of this drill and its analytical reports are slated to be issued in March 2025. With respect to the measures that are based on the outcomes of this drill, he said the outcomes of the participating entities highlight the strengths that require enhancement, along with the points that need optimization and remediation measures, Al Mannai pointed out. Subsequently, he said, NCSA undertakes its responsibilities to gauge performance with the aim of directing institutions toward the best practices to reinforce their capabilities in staving off any potential cyber threats. He highlighted the activities of NCSA's National Cyber Initiatives Assurance Department, which revolve around the implementation of cyber drills as an annual event that aims to bolster readiness, alongside initiatives that enhance the cyber capabilities of multiple institutions and entities, in addition to offering programm es and roadmaps to all entities to be periodically monitored. Al Mannai underscored the importance of the latest measures pertinent to adding a financial item for cybersecurity in the budget of each institution, where it was previously included under the framework of information technology without a specific budget allocated for cybersecurity. He highlighted that the NCSA's role is to identify the mechanism of allocating the cybersecurity budget within institutions and how it is leveraged, the methods for proposing cybersecurity-related initiatives and following up on them, in addition to reviewing cybersecurity projects, approving them for implementation, and submitting them to the Ministry of Finance for budget allocation. In his closing remarks, Al Mannai underscored the importance of upgrading the cyber capabilities of all interagency institutions, as these capabilities are measured at the domestic level, along with the keenness to correctly operate in pursuit of achieving incredible outcomes in the fut ure. He stressed that NCSA and all its operatives will spare no effort to diligently work around the clock to achieve its primary objective in providing a more secure and safer cyber space for the State of Qatar.