Comments on the article published by SMEX, covering a two day conference titled “Cybersecurity and Cyberdefense: Stakes and Perspective,”.
Though I greatly appreciate the presentation published by Rafiq Younes (the university’s Dean of the Faculty of Engineers), and encourage the growing attention to security in our Digital Sphere, I must point out that at this stage in the game we cannot afford to be delusional and must not indulge in the bureaucracy to avoid stepping on toes.
“..Still, Lebanon does not yet have an elaborate plan for its cybersecurity. Only a minimal collaboration between the private and the public sector is currently underway and no governmental entity is dealing explicitly with issues regarding cybersecurity… ” – R. Younes
I believe this statement to be somewhat ridiculous.
The only recent action publicly being taken in Lebanon regarding cyber crime is to protect political figures and media personnel from the rantings of the public and bloggers (a long list there, but you can use google if you want to fuel any hatred towards this subject). The Cyber Crime Bureau is still being used as a form of free speech control to avoid another Digital *Spring.
I see no torch bearer or institute to uphold the progress achieved in Lebanon’s digital sphere by it’s pioneers and visionaries…..
Torch bearers like Nicolas Sehnaoui, Ziad Sankari, Jihad Kawwas, Mustapha Hamoui, Gino Raidy, Imad Bazzi…
Organizations like Altcity, BDD, Cloud961, Bader‘s Lebanse Business Angels, The Dream Matcher…
Maybe a lawyer can guide us? No? Hmmm perhaps not. Well I guess it falls to the shoulders of Suzan Hobeiche now to guide our battle against digital regression. Some years back, Sehnaoui invited some of the brightest in their respective fields to sit down with him and his senior advisers so that we could set a digital road map for the following years. Regardless of the path taken since, the gesture taken by the former MoT shone a bright light on how a dysfunctional government can still invest in side projects that do not align with it’s planned economical implosion, and that there is a way to build a solid tech scene.
Perhaps there is someone to initiate another such meeting of the brains *e7em* CCB *e7em* to set a road map on the cyber security issue, an action plan, and a reasonable time frame. Preferably, the meeting minutes would be published publicly, with both the CCB and the digital citizen’s respective roles and duties. Maybe, Oh dear Lord MAYBE, there would be some accountability held.
Dear dean R. Younes, with all due respect, currently there is no collaboration between the public and private sectors in the presence of an oblivious government. Would you care to initiate a real collaboration effort yourself?
We are, after all, looking for our next Digital Champion.
ryanhamze.wordpress.com 