The need for a global response against cybercrime: Qatar as a case study

Abstract

Cybersecurity is one of the most significant concerns of life in the 21st century and safeguarding information systems is an arduous task for governments and companies across the globe. The tremendous growth in wireless communication and extensive usage of cyberspace has weakened privacy. Eventually, cybercrime has become the substantial threat to all the organizations in the world because of its devastating implications on diverse sectors associated to human. This paper explores few impacts of cybercrime to understand the intensity of damage it can cause. Besides, Qatar is taken as a case study to emphasize the exigency of securing cyberspace. The contribution of this work identifies the past cyber-attacks in Qatar to generate consciousness and to trigger actions for improving national security. The recent major cyber-attack on Qatar News Agency which led to catastrophic results and threatened Qatar's diplomacy is also outlined along with the critical challenges that are being faced by the security of Qatar. As cybercrime crosses borders of all nations, this paper emphasizes the need for global response to curb it. Additionally, it delineates the fact that attacks in cyberspace are not just driven by financial gain, but by politics or disinformation to denigrate and cause emotional harm. 2018 IEEE.