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Doha, Qatar: Qatar’s approach to cybersecurity is built around continuous improvement, collaboration and shared responsibility among government entities, businesses and individuals, said the Director of the Cyber Strategies and Policy Department at the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA), Abdulrahman Al-Shafi.
In an interview with The Peninsula during the fifth Cybersecurity Governance and Assurance Conference, Al-Shafi emphasised the importance of strengthening cooperation between cybersecurity departments within the NCSA and stakeholders across the country to prepare for emerging cyber threats.
“Cybersecurity is a continuous journey and a shared responsibility, and therefore together, we strive to uplift Qatar’s cyber readiness and ensure that all stakeholders are equipped to face tomorrow’s challenges,” Al-Shafi said.
He highlighted the importance of coordination in developing and implementing Qatar’s national cybersecurity policies, noting that the country’s National Cyber Security Strategy was preceded by extensive consultation and assessment of the challenges facing different stakeholders.
Al-Shafi noted that the strategy was not developed simply as a policy document to be handed over to organisations for implementation but to work with stakeholders throughout the process to develop an implementation plan that reflects their needs, capabilities and limitations.
“We have worked two years ago on launching the National Cyber Security Strategy at that time, and we had a one-year full journey before then to try and address what kind of challenges that we oversee,” he said.
The official said the collaborative approach was designed to provide a clearer understanding of where companies stood at the beginning of the implementation journey, while also identifying practical limitations that could affect the execution of national cybersecurity objectives.
He stressed that shared responsibility remains central to the country’s cybersecurity efforts.
“What we are trying to do is to make Qatar’s digital cyberspace more secure so Qatar, as a State, can prosper more,” Al-Shafi said.
He reiterated that the NCSA’s role extends beyond developing national policies and strategies, with the agency also seeking to provide assistance to stakeholders across Qatar, including individuals, as the country continues its digital transformation. “Our main duty is to secure the cyberspace and as well to offer what kind of assistance that we can as much to the stakeholders within the State of Qatar and even for individuals,” he added.
Al-Shafi’s remarks underline the agency’s focus on strengthening cybersecurity resilience through cooperation, practical implementation, and closer stakeholder engagement, as Qatar’s digital ecosystem continues to expand and face increasingly complex cyber risks. The conference also witnessed a range of panel and expert presentations exploring emerging cybersecurity challenges and developments.
Topics included digital sovereignty, quantum computing, public-private cooperation in cybersecurity governance, data governance, artificial intelligence, supply-chain security, and the risks AI poses to operational technology.
The programme concluded with a presentation examining accountability for cyber risk in an increasingly interconnected digital environment.
