A cyber agency in Qatar conducts national cyber exercises

To improve their processes and plans for handling incidents, organizations in Qatar take part in cybersecurity drills through Qatar's National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA).

Through a series of cyber drills, Qatar's National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) is evaluating the security postures of about 170 major organizations.

The assessments give executives and decision-makers from the biggest companies in Qatar the chance to practice their resilience plans, national collaboration strategies, and cybersecurity procedures. The exercises are meant to identify cyber vulnerabilities, evaluate cyber preparedness, and gauge response times to threats and attacks, according to a report from the Qatari News Agency.

The Ministry of Transportation and Qatari Steel have both previously participated in the cyber exercise; however, participants for this year have not yet been disclosed. According to a statement from the company, Qatari Steel was able to check, evaluate, and enhance their abilities, procedures, and technologies through the drills, which allowed them to assess coordination, competence, and response to a potential cyber-attack in a secure setting.

One goal of the exercises is to help enterprises respond to, resolve, and recuperate from cyber incidents and assaults by sharing information promptly, working together, and taking appropriate action. The drills are a component of the Qatari National Cyber Security Strategy.

To achieve that goal, one of Qatar's criteria is to conduct cybersecurity exercises and drills. Thirty-five businesses representing important industries such as financial services, telecommunications, energy, government, transportation, aviation, and health participated in the first round of drills in 2015.