20 May 2015
38% of IT professionals in Qatar understand the local cyber laws compared to 23% average across the GCC

Doha - Gulf Business Machines (GBM), the region's number one provider of IT solutions and services, has revealed that IT professionals in Qatar are significantly more aware of local cyber laws than their peers in the GCC.

The annual GBM Security Study, now in its fourth year, has shown that security breaches in the GCC are on the rise, with one in five participants being aware of a privacy violation in the past 12 months. Increasing threats of cyber-attacks, coupled with the rise of cloud adoption, mobility and social media, led companies to implement more flexible technologies in the workplace, whilst not necessarily investing enough to mitigate potential risks associated.

Soubhi Chebib, country general manager, GBM Qatar, commented:  "We do significant business with both public and private organizations. Qatar is continuing to enrich its large portfolio of e-services that are available for constituents and businesses. Security has always been of prime concern and the survey has shown that there is an impressive level of awareness in Qatar around the need for appropriate systems to keep data and information safe and to minimize the impact of threats. This is good news for the future development of Qatar."

As services are continually being brought online and the region's growing focus on smart services, GBM's survey has shown that cyber security continues to cause concern for organisations and individuals. The survey also showed that 86 per cent of participants are concerned with data and identity theft that could result from having to provide personal data while making online transactions. Yet, three out of five participants blindly accept online terms and conditions, which in turn may lead to privacy breaches.

"The future is digital," said Hani Nofal, vice president, Intelligent Network Solutions, GBM. "And we must ensure that the correct security measures are in place in order for organisations, and the general public to feel safe in the technologies that can provide added value to their working and personal lives."
Commenting on the results, Assistant Under Secretory for Cyber Security Sector- Eng. Khalid N. Sadiq Al-Hashmi, said "Public and private actors encounter unprecedented and unacceptable risks on the internet today.As a result, public-private-partnerships (P3s) approaches were able to address complex national challenges through combined training & awareness programs.  We acknowledge GBM's efforts in pioneering local P3s models in the region."

-Ends-

About the Survey
•The online survey polled 500 IT professionals based in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait. . While taking a closer look at executive-level respondents.

Key Qatar Findings
•38% of Qatar respondents were aware of local cyber laws, compared to a regional average of 21%

•80% are not aware of any cyber threatening incident in their company during in the past 12 months

•75% of respondentsuse same mobile for work and personal use

•30% accept terms and conditions without reading them before downloading and installing apps on their mobile devices

•80% said security and privacy were considerations made when choosing a mobile application

Key GCC Findings
•75% of respondents use their personal mobile for work. 80% of executives use their personal mobile for work and personal use.

•40% of respondents accept terms and conditions without reading them before downloading and installing apps on their mobile devices. While 60% of executives do the same.

•80% of respondents are not aware of the cyber protection laws in their country, while only 70% of executives are not aware of the same.

•50% of respondents use only one type of security measures to access data on their mobile devices, generally a password or PIN. However, less than 10% of executives use appropriate security measures.

•14% of respondents use no form of security method on their mobile, for example, a PIN, password or fingerprint recognition.

•86% of executives have major concerns about Data and identify theft while making transactions.

About Gulf Business Machines (GBM)
Founded in 1990, Gulf Business Machines (GBM) is the leading IT solutions provider in the region fulfilling the IT requirements of local, regional and international organizations in the GCC.

GBM is the sole distributor for IBM- excluding selected IBM products and services -throughout the GCC, except for Saudi Arabia. GBM's momentum was further enhanced in 1999, when the team secured the Cisco portfolio. Today GBM holds the highest level of recognition in the region from Cisco, Gold Partner status, in addition to the Cisco Borderless Network Architecture Specialized Learning Partner status.

GBM offers an extensive range of IT infrastructure, IT solutions and services ranging from consulting, resource deployment and integration to after-sales support, through 1000 professionals and over 20 solid strategic partnerships forged with internationally-recognized IT solution providers.

The company, which is ISO-9001 certified since 1999, has offices in the UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah), Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain. GBM also has established a presence in Pakistan, where the company now operates three offices, one each in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore as an IBM Premier Business Partner. The Pakistani operation also holds a Silver Partner Status from Cisco.

In 2014, GBM achieved Cisco Channel Customer Satisfaction Excellence, the highest distinction a partner can achieve within the Cisco Channel Partner Program.

For more information please visitwww.gbmme.com

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For further information, please contact:
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Gulf Business Machines
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Email: gbmcomms@bh.gbm.ihost.com

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© Press Release 2015