The conference, organised by White Hat Desert in collaboration with Msheireb Properties and Qatar Scientific Club, is the largest of its kind in Qatar.
The rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence has increased the complexity of potential cyber threats in addition to its benefits, experts said at the fifth annual White Hat Desert Cybersecurity Conference in Doha’s Msheireb on Thursday.
Organised to combine industry expertise with public engagement, the event featured high-profile local experts as well as cybersecurity professionals from across the region to discuss modern trends and ways to mitigate potential threats.
To bridge the gap between the general public and the industry-centric discourse, a cybersecurity village, live hacking competitions, technology demonstrations, gaming competitions, drone racing, robotics displays, and virtual reality experiences were set up at the venue.
Most of the discussions featured the challenges and trends related to AI.
Ed Sleiman, the regional chief security advisor of Microsoft, told Doha News that the AI boom has raised questions in both ends for the cybersecurity sector.
“AI can very easily detect and understand what we’re doing and predict even our moves. That’s why one of the things that AI is being used is to figure out what hackers are doing and predict an attack before it happens,” Sleiman explained.
“But the problem with that also, hackers are using AI,” he added, alluding to the threats.
Panel discussions at the conference revolved around the modern and emerging trends in digital defence, cloud security and awareness of modern threats created by the fast-paced tech evolution.
“This conference is a platform to share the latest cybersecurity trends to be able to fight and combat all the cyber threats that might arise,” Carlos Rebollo, cyberstrategy leader at Malomatia, told Doha News.
Malomatia claims itself to be the largest provider of technology services and solutions in the country.
“We are following the same principles as Qatar National Vision 2030 and we are supporting all the work streams to make a more resilient and secure Qatar,” Rebollo added.
