Dr.

Hessa Al-Jaber Welcoming Remarks

to the ITU Regional Workshop
on Frameworks for Cybersecurity
and Critical Information Infrastructure Protection
Doha February 18, 2008

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Doha for this timely regional forum on

Cybersecurity. And thank the International Telecommunications Union for
hosting this important meeting in Qatar. As I look around the room, I see many
friends and colleagues from ministries and regulatory authorities throughout the
region.

I am also honored to note the presence of Mr. Sami Al Basheer Al Morshid, a

colleague from Saudi Arabia who also happens to be the Director of the ITU-D.
And welcome Mr. Rich Pethia, founder and director of the original Computer
Emergency Response Team at Carnegie Mellon University. It is a testament to
you and your colleagues that for nearly twenty years, CERT has been helping
protect valuable information and infrastructure in countries throughout the
world.

As of last year, Qatar is one of those countries. In 2007 we launched a national

information security program that will help to keep both adults and children safe
on the internet. And our initiative will help safeguard data belonging to
companies and organizations.

Some of you were here two year ago for the World Telecommunications
Development Conference. You may remember that we raised important issues
about the universal access, emerging technologies, reforms of telecom sectors and
governments role in ICT and Telecom developments. Those discussions spurred
real action that will benefit those who live and do business here.

The WTDC-06 conference established what has become known as the Doha
Action Plan. In Qatar, we are moving ahead with the recommendations of the
Doha Action Plan. Since then we opened our telecom market to competition and
private sector participation, building common infrastructure platforms, and
planting the seeds for building a truly global information society that will connect
all those who live and work in Qatar to technology.
The conference also sparked the formal creation of ITU Question 22/1, on
Securing Information and Communication Networks: Best Practices for
Developing a Culture of Cybersecurity.

This issue of Cybersecurity is of pressing urgency to every nation. As ICT

becomes more and more integral in our lives, our businesses, homes, schools,
and hospitals become increasingly vulnerable. Disruptions can potentially shut
down critical systems and cost untold millions of dollars.

We recently saw firsthand just how vulnerable our internet connections are. Two
weeks ago, our Internet connectivity was reduced due to the loss of four undersea
fiber optic cables - two off the Mediterranean coast of Egypt and two in the
Arabian Gulf. The cuts throttled Egypt's connections outside the country by 70%,
hampering international banks and curtailing trading on the country's stock
exchange. India, whose huge outsourcing industry depends on the Internet, lost
half its capacity.

This incident demonstrates the importance of protecting the systems that have
become the lifeblood of our modern societies.

The interruption of fundamental services can be enormously disruptive. But the

potential exists for worse. When disruptions occur maliciously, the results can be
potentially life-threatening. Imagine that without notice, you are suddenly
unable to buy bread, or petrol, as happened to our friends in Estonia. This
incident served as a wake-up call to governments everywhere, demonstrating the
need to improve the security and reliability of our critical information
infrastructure.

All of us in this room are passionate about the power of ICT to drive economic
development and enrich lives in countless ways. But while we advance ICT with
all of its enormous benefits, it is incumbent on us to improve cybersecurity.

I am encouraged by the presence of all of you for this important set of meetings.
We must succeed. Failure is not an option.

I wish you the best of luck for your work in the coming days, and look forward
with great interest to your recommendations.

Thank you.