Continuing its long-standing efforts to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and in view of the increasing threat of cyber-attacks on individuals as well corporations, ABA Holding decided to organize intensive Cybersecurity Awareness Sessions.
The ‘Don’t get hooked!’ workshop focused on educating senior management and division nominated Information Security (IS) Champions about the increasing cybersecurity concerns. From the title to the branding elements used in the event, everything revolved around the theme of threats in the cyber world. The session was part of a larger campaign that started way back in 2018 with the plan to extend the knowledge to the entire Group.
Cybersecurity globally is not seen any more as the sole responsibility of the IT Department, it is a corporate responsibility. Treating it as a Group initiative, ABA IT, ABA HR, ABA Internal Audit and Finance Departments joined hands to organize the awareness event. Subject Matter Experts (SME) from Barikat, a partner of Ali Bin Ali Technology Solutions (ABATS), was invited to deliver the specially curated sessions and explain the potential cyber threats and the ways to combat them.
The two-day event, which was divided into 3 sessions, was held on June 14 and 15, 2022, at the La Cigale Hotel. While the first session on Day 1 was attended by General Managers and members of the ABA Operating Board, the second session on the same day was for the Finance Managers from different ABA divisions. The solo session on Day 2 was held for IS Champions selected from different ABA divisions.
The event was launched by the Chief Operating Officer of ICT Mr. Mohamad A. Ebrik and Group General Manager Human Resources Mr. Aldrine Austine Fernandez.
Mr. Ebrik’s Opening statements highlighted the need to identify and always be aware of the sensitivity of business information. “It is the time for cultural change. ABA divisions shall look at cybersecurity as a business risk. In the light of FIFA-2022, it is time for us to be more cautious, more precise in identifying our needs toward the business operations.” he said.
Mr. Aldrine continued to highlight the seriousness of the matter and said: “Cybersecurity is of primary importance for business houses and individuals alike. We can’t even imagine how susceptible we all are to phishing emails and hacking tricks. We constantly need to keep ourselves updated about the latest hacking trends and the ways to avoid falling prey to them.”
After a short introduction, Mr. Emre Camalan (SME) from the Barikat Turkey team began his educative and informative presentation that covered all aspects of cyber threats, awareness and security. Constant interaction with the attendees made the session engaging.
The presentation was perfectly complemented by a simulation by members of the HR, IT and Internal Audit teams, exposing how hackers can easily blend with our system and extract our very personal details, using the same to hack our personal and company accounts. It was a perfect and fun way to pass on the critical massage about cyber safety.
The intensive presentation was concluded with a question and answer session and the participation and active interaction of the audience reflected the success of the event.