Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
With cases of hacking into organisations IT systems in Bahrain increasing at an alarming rate, experts from a leading global IT security company are in Manama for a one day consultative forum to discuss the world's most advanced security measures.
The worrying trend is that while the threats are global, the attacks are now becoming more geographically targeted.
In 2007, Trend Micro recorded a substantial increase in the number of compromised PCs in IT infrastructures in Bahrain - rising from 9,449 in January to 16,485 attacks by December.
"There is a wholesale effort by cyber criminals to subvert and compromise web services around the globe and the goal is simple: it is financial gain," said Justin Doo, managing director, Trend Micro Middle East/North Africa.
Internet penetration in the Middle East is growing exponentially, and cyber criminals are focusing their attention on websites that have a steady stream of trusting visitors, or those that can easily be compromised.
Any person or organisation anywhere in the world can have their IT infrastructure attacked or compromised from any location in the world.
"The days of simply putting a web page up on the internet and forgetting about it are long gone. Customers need to know that when they visit a website, it is safe to do so, as the reputation of that website can often be a key business differentiator. We are doing our share by taking this message to Bahrain," Mr Doo added.
At the consultative forum experts explained the threats and steps to be taken by organisations to protect themselves against cyber criminals.
A transnational company, with headquarters in Tokyo, Trend Micro's security solutions are sold through its business partners worldwide.
