Taking place from 6-8 December 2022 at Exhibition World Bahrain, the inaugural Arab International Cybersecurity Summit (AICS) will be held in Manama under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Co-hosted by the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), the Summit will provide a unique gateway to the highest level of government and industry in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
According to a study by Gartner, businesses in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region will increase their spending against cyber threats by 11.2% in 2022, with cloud infrastructure being the most important component to safeguard. With cyber-attacks becoming more sophisticated, the region’s cyber security market is expected to reach US$66.5 billion by 2025.
The Arab International Cybersecurity Summit (AICS) will serve as the largest convention, in the region, for government regulators, industry professionals and solution providers to discuss and devise strategies to secure their cyber and IT infrastructure. With the central theme as Empowering Global Cooperation in Cybersecurity, the summit will offer a global overview to all aspects of the cybersecurity and information security hierarchy in any organization.
According to the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation, Bahrain ranks first in MENA for financial, investment, and trade freedom. Being the first country in the region to adopt a nationwide ‘cloud-first’ policy, the strategic geographical location of Bahrain is an ideal place to take advantage of the booming ICT sector with the government aiming to spend around US$ 2.1bn by 2024 alone.
In his Welcome Message, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, says: “The Middle East Cybersecurity market size is projected to grow from US$ 20.3 billion in 2022 to US$ 44.7 billion by 2027 (Source: Gartner.Inc, GlobalData) - CAGR of 17.1 % during the forecast period.
In the past 24 months, we have witnessed exponential advances in global technology that connects us more than ever before, driving extraordinary opportunity, innovation and progress. However, these technological advances have also given rise to a new wave of advanced and dangerous cyber-attacks.
From hospitals to oil pipelines, from schools to airports - the scale and pace of these attacks – often beating our social norms, laws, and democratic institutions are also unleashing unprecedented complexity, instability and risk.
The global expansion of cyberspace is changing the way we live, work and communicate, and transforming the critical systems we rely on in areas such as finance, energy, food distribution, healthcare, transport and beyond. In short, cyberspace has now become an integral part of our future security and prosperity. This new and advanced digital world offers extraordinary opportunities for countries thriving technologically, the Kingdom of Bahrain is one of these countries that works tirelessly to achieve national goals to keep our government, citizens and infrastructure safe.
Being the first country in the GCC to adopt a nationwide ‘cloud-first’ policy, the strategic geographical location of Bahrain is an ideal place to take advantage of the booming ICT sector with the government forecasted to spend US$ 2.1bn by 2024.
To provide citizens with a safe ICT space, Bahrain’s National Cybersecurity Strategy is working with the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) and other government entities on building partnerships that will help combat and mitigate cybersecurity threats, protecting the Kingdom’s interests in cyberspace.”
