ABU DHABI // Nato could provide assistance to countries such as the UAE to ward off future cyber attacks, says a former national security adviser to US president Barack Obama.
Gen James Jones said the establishment of a common set of cyber-security standards would help countries to fight the evolving threat.
“You don’t have to be a member of Nato to be involved in major discussions going on and I think that’s one of the advantages of the organisation,” Gen Jones said on Wednesday.
“If the UAE wishes to have interoperability links, which I think is a good idea, there are ways in which it can become a partner country.”
Such countries are integrated into how Nato “does business” and could take advantage of a common set of cyber-security standards.
In an increasingly changing world, states have to keep up with more sophisticated technologies and cyber attacks, Gen Jones warned.
“The very concept of national and international security has changed very rapidly from the 20th to the 21st century,” he said. “It went from a bipolar to a multipolar world.
“The 21st century is so different and governments and businesses will have to rapidly change their views in what it means when you use the word security.
“There was order in the 20th century in the US, but it’s messy now in this world.”
Gen Jones said adapting to this new, competitive and challenging environment would require closer work between the public and private sectors.
“We can appreciate the UAE’s ambitions and embrace of technology,” he said.
“The country is changing and meeting the needs of the environment while adapting to the future and that’s fundamentally important, but the embrace of a new world and the openness to technology presents opportunities as well as risks.
“Phones can be hacked by proximity and private financial data can be compromised through online payments. Energy and cyber are two of the most important 21st century problems, and both are in search of national and international policy.
“Governments can’t solve problems on their own and, in many respects, we’re still at the start with no plans on cyber.”
Now the president of the global consultancy Jones Group International, he was speaking at a Defence, Advancing Research and Technology working group in Abu Dhabi.
Future security of the internet required a united front and common set of standards, Gen Jones said.
“The capability of these things has already eclipsed policy control so there is a need for international cooperation and standards to keep a safe and open internet,” he said.
“We should establish a set of cyber standards with our allies, with Nato for example, including countries like the UAE.
“It’s a collective threat but Nato can convene many countries to talk about cyber security, not just individually but internationally.”
With the UAE’s interest in a closer partnership with Nato, it could be an opportunity for it to be involved in valuable knowledge-sharing.
“We have to recognise that threats like energy and cyber are extremely real and they’re not going to go away,” said Gen Jones.
“We have to catch up because technology is advanced and, although it can provide good, there are two sides to every coin and that darker side exists.”
Matthew Cochran, the chairman of the Defence Services Marketing Council, the organiser of the event, agreed.
“The more we don’t reach out to our allies, the more we will have to come back and make up for that mistake, so we need to work proactively now,” Mr Cochran said.
Ahmet Varoglu, adviser to the chief executive in business development at Tawazun, Abu Dhabi’s strategic defence investment company, said many firms were just in the learning phase of cyber threats.
“Everybody is looking for a solution but they have no idea about the threat,” Mr Varoglu said.
“I believe the private sector will come up with solutions and show us possibilities but an international programme led by states could be an option to come up with solutions for protection.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
