JORDAN TO OPEN CYBERCRIME CENTER IN AMMAN

Work began this month to establish a cybercrime center in Amman dedicated to fighting cybercrime and cyber security threats that target Jordan's financial sectors and its national security. The new center is being established under the supervision of the Jordanian Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.

"The center will play a big role in confronting cybercrime that could target the financial sector such as banks in light of an increasing number of Internet users in the kingdom," said Minister of Information and Communications Technology Azam Sleit.

Speaking at a workshop to assess preparedness for establishing Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) centers, Sleit said the new center would reinforce the existing cybercrime law and help to introduce new laws.

The workshop was organised by the Arab regional office of the International Telecommunications Union in collaboration with the ministry and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.

"We hope to raise awareness on information security through building reliable communication centers for reporting cybercrimes and assisting response teams in cybercrime incidents across different sectors," Sleit said.

The center is important due to "the authorities' need to prevent this type of crime", said Lt. Col. Sahm al-Jamal, director of the cybercrime unit of the Public Security Directorate's criminal investigations department.

"Our department dealt with around 1,300 cybercrimes during 2013," he told Al-Shorfa.

According to al-Jamal, 75% of cybercrime victims are women, and crimes include fraud and extortion, with large amounts of money being transferred to fraudulent bank accounts abroad.

"Building this centre is necessary for the protection of important information pertaining to the country's security, such as the central bank or records of the Department of Civil Status [and Passports]," said Jawad Abbassi, head of Jordan's Information and Communications Technology Association.

Abbassi warned of the increasing threat of cyber terrorism in the modern age.

"The center will be highly developed and equipped to confront any kind of terrorism that targets national security," he said.

On the other hand, "QATAR" issued a cybercrime prevention law on Tuesday that prescribes punishments for several offences dealing with computers and networks, and crimes committed through the Internet.

As we approach "SCAM" next month, In San Antonio 12 international teams on cybersecurity will be competing in Global Cyberlympics. This event of its kind will bring Ethical hackers in one place and compete to find the winner. More details about the competition can be read "HERE"