Kuwait Against Cyber Crimes

Over the past few years, there has been a surge in cyber crimes targeting Kuwait. The number and sophistication of cyber attacks are growing at an unprecedented rate. Today almost every organization in Kuwait is being targeted with cyber threats such as BEC attacks, ransomware, etc.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a major role in increasing cyber crimes in the nation. The pandemic did reduce the threat related to physical crime such as home break-ins, pick-pocketing, etc. But it created a chance for cyber criminals to target almost every organization that adopted remote work culture, by exploiting their vulnerabilities.

As per Zawya, Kuwait witnessed at least 1,305 cyber attacks related to the COVID-19 pandemic during the first half of 2020.

Existing Cyber Threats in Kuwait

Now if we segregate the cyber attacks that are targeting Kuwait into different categories then there are several. Some of them are:

Phishing

Phishing attacks in Kuwait have increased dramatically in recent years. According to Zawya, 2,578,501 phishing attacks were detected in Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman in Q2 2020. 106,245 reports were from Kuwait. Though it is less as compared to other GCC members, one should be aware that the threat vector still exists and it is harming both organizations and consumers.

Ransomware

Ransomware has always been a popular cyber attack vector worldwide. According to the Security Middle East Magazine, Kuwait witnessed almost 1.9 million ransomware attacks only in the first quarter of 2018. Moreover, with emerging ransomware services such as RaaS, the nation might witness increasingly evolving ransomware attacks.

Cyber Preparedness in Kuwait

To combat these prevailing cyber crimes, Kuwait has outlined a series of strategies.

As per Oxford Business Group, Kuwait’s government has also released National Cyber Security Strategy 2017-20, 2017. The strategy was to increase cyber security strength across technical, legal, regulatory, and administrative dimensions.

Furthermore, the nation is trying to harness the full potential of technology to benefit communities, industries, and economies alike. Therefore, several firms have also taken cyber security measures seriously to decrease the impact of cyber attacks.

Some of the best cyber security measures an organization should adopt are:

Analyze and Strategize to Build a Robust IT Infrastructure

An organization should always analyze the cyber threat and security posture to identify the loopholes in the IT infrastructure and fix them accordingly. Conducting Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing periodically will help businesses spot the vulnerabilities in an organization. Moreover, it will help you protect your organization against those cyber threats. 

Securing a company against cyber criminals needs a proper strategy that involves planning and implementing the best cyber security measures. Also, a strategy to defend any security threats that may arise in the future.

Furthermore, as mentioned earlier, the government bodies are introducing laws and protocols. This is to combat the increasing cyber crimes, therefore, one should make sure to follow and comply with them. Especially the companies that deal with or store thousands of valuable data.

“We often assume that smaller countries like Kuwait face fewer cybersecurity threats than larger countries. The reality, however, is that we are often targets of sophisticated attacks,” said Ahmad Marouf, a cyber security expert. “Given the amount of wealth in the region, companies and governments alike are prime targets for hackers,” he added.

Cyber Security Awareness and Training

Another important initiative an organization shouldn’t overlook is to train and educate the employees. As we all know employees are the first line of defense in a cyber security chain, they need to be trained well. Providing cyber security awareness and training to the employees will help them gain the requisite knowledge on how these cyber attacks function and also how they can avoid them.

with the analysis of simulation and training campaigns, an organization can also identify which employee or team is the most vulnerable as well. Then the organization can provide them additional training that is required to make them cyber vigilantly.  

You might also want to read: 5 Effective Strategies for Robust Cyber Security

Conclusion

Kuwait is doing well when it comes to implementing cyber security best practices. That being said, the nation is still not fully prepared to combat the existing and emerging cyber threats.  Therefore, implementing a cyber security framework is a must for every organization.

In fact, to secure an organization there are several parameters that must be addressed. So, analyzing where your organization stands in terms of cyber security and what should be done to improve it is the way to go.

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Richard

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