Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 34 | Page 13

IT companies add to growth of registered companies in Qatar MOTC announces Qatar Threat Hunters competition T he Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) has announced a significant increase in the number of companies, including IT enterprises, registered under itself during the first half of 2018. QFC, one of the world’s leading onshore business and financial centres, announced a 69% increase in new firms registered during the first half of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017. The total number of firms on the QFC platform was recorded as 532 by the end of the first half of this year. The newly registered firms come from a wide variety of sectors including IT, advisory and consulting, advertising and marketing, legal services and investment clubs. As well as Qatari firms, the majority of new companies joining the QFC platform have come from Europe, India and Pakistan. There have also been a number of firms joining from the USA and MENA regions. Since June 2017 the QFC has seen a notable increase in international firms looking to establish in Qatar. Yousuf Mohammed Al-Jaida, Chief Executive Officer, QFC Authority, said: “The QFC has broken another record in terms of firms joining our platform. We continue to attract a wide range of new companies from Qatar and beyond, all who recognise the attractiveness of the QFC platform and the many opportunities available within the Qatar market.” P otential cybersecurity experts in Qatar have the chance to prove their skills in a nationwide competition. The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC), in association with the ITU Arab Regional Cybersecurity Centre (ARCC), has announced this year’s Qatar Threat Hunters competition for young people aged between 17 and 24. and specialists and harness their capabilities for competing regionally and globally. As the cybersecurity skills gap continues to grow both in the private and public sector, cybersecurity competitions have been recognised worldwide as an effective method for finding new talents and to foster the development of the required cybersecurity competences. MOTC has invited all Qatari talents who have skills in the realm of cybersecurity to join the competition. The competition revolves around several questions and challenges on cybersecurity domains such as ethical hacking, system exploitation, ICT infrastructure and system protection, computer forensics and malware analysis. This national contest is a part of the Arab Threat Hunter competition that is organised by ITU and ARCC for Arab youth to develop their skills and talents in the field. The aim is to qualify and prepare the next generation of cybersecurity professionals www.intelligentcio.com Competition winners are going to be awarded during the Regional Cybersecurity Week 2018 for the Arab Region. This will be held in Kuwait from October 21 to 25. INTELLIGENTCIO 13