Bahrain at ‘maturity stage’ in ITU Global Security Index

Manama : Bahrain has achieved a mature stage of cyber security readiness as per the assessment of the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) Global Cyber Security Index 2017, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) announced yesterday. 

The index measured the cyber security commitment levels of all 193 ITU state members based on five key pillars ranging from legal, technical, organizational, to capacity building and cooperation. TRA has implemented several initiatives to address the gaps identified in the 2014 iteration of the index in order to elevate the telecommunications sector cyber security readiness, and to harmonize efforts between local and global best practices.

 According to the recently published ITU report, Bahrain has been listed in the ‘Maturing Stage’ category that includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, as well as 75 other countries that have developed complex commitments, and have actively engaged in implementing key cyber security programs and initiatives. TRA’s efforts have contributed significantly towards improving the cyber security ranking on all of the 5 pillars , and the recently published Critical Telecommunications Infrastructure Risk Management regulation in particular has played a vital role in improving Bahrain’s ITU ranking in the Index.  

“The telecom sector has taken positive strides in improving its cyber security posture since 2014, yet we do recognize that more needs to be done in order to realize a more secure cyber environment that would enable us to reap sustainable benefits from digital transformation,” says TRA’s Director of Cyber Security, Dr. Khalid bin Duaij Al Khalifa. 

“While the Authority remains committed towards bridging the gap with developed countries as per the report’s findings, TRA is mindful that the global rank is merely indicative of the gaps that still exist and which can be positively improved through national level cyber security initiatives that would result in improved inter-sector cooperation and capacity building exercises,” he added. 

 TRA aims to continually implement initiatives to achieve public-private collaborations to ensure the sector is adequately prepared to counter the rising cyber threats to the availability and security of telecom and digital services which are critical for achieving a robust digital economy.