Experts from Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s College of Science and Engineering have hosted representatives from the Ministry of Defense on a course that highlighted cyber security threats, how to guard against them, and what to do when a cyber attack takes place.

Ten staff members from the Ministry of Defense took part in the five-day executive education course, which covered such topics as Applied Cryptography, Network Security (Malware, Distributed Denial of Service attacks, Intrusion Detection Systems), and Wireless Security – with extensive hands-on sessions covering the dreadful vulnerabilities that current wireless networks are exposed to, and possible remedies.

Following the successful conclusion of the course, Dr. Mounir Hamdi, Dean of the College of Science and Engineering at HBKU, commented: “The executive education course on cyber security given by the College of Science and Engineering to the Ministry of Defense is an illustration of the importance of cyber security in Qatar as well as an illustration of the kind of collaboration that the College of Science and Engineering at HBKU wants to establish with the Qatari ministries, industry, and society so as to contribute to QNV 2030.”

Earlier this year, HBKU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Qatari Armed Forces, under the patronage of the Minister of Defense, which outlined future collaborative efforts between HBKU and the Ministry. 

Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Dr. Khaled B. Letaief, Provost of HBKU, explained: “It is an essential part of the mission of our university to drive collaboration that enhances Qatar’s human capacity through dialogue and research. Developing this partnership to be mutually beneficial and productive in advancing our knowledge in such fields as security and data technology, together with our programs at the College of Science and Engineering, will help take Qatar one step closer to achieving its sustainable developmental goals in this key sector.”