Regional governments, particularly those near conflict zones, must analyse the importance of their critical energy infrastructure to their own national security on a node-by-node basis, said an industry expert.

Dr Kevin Rosner, a senior fellow with the Institute for Analysis of Global Security, was speaking ahead of the Infrastructure Security Conference (Infrasec), which kicks off on Monday (April 18) at The Gulf Hotel in Manama, Bahrain.

Organised by Messe Frankfurt Middle East, and held under the patronage of Dr Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza, Bahrain’s Minister of Energy, Infrasec is expected to attract more than 150 regional energy infrastructure security professionals, and will feature, besides Rosner, a power-packed line-up of more than 20 expert speakers.

Dr Rosner said: "GCC countries endowed with energy-related natural resources, need to assess whether they’re adequately protecting assets which they consider central to state interests."

“Decision makers should be reminded that energy infrastructure is part of a supply chain which, to use the old adage, is only as strong as its weakest link,” said Rosner who will be delivering a presentation on Asymmetric Warfare and Critical Energy Infrastructure Protection at Infrasec which runs till April 20.

"Regardless of whatever steps have been taken to secure critical infrastructure, the threats and challenges, and therefore tactics to undo protection measures, are dynamic, not static," he stated.

“As the former director of the FBI said with regards to cybersecurity back in 2012, ‘I am convinced that there are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked and those that will be.’  The same can be said for countries with vital, critical and largely visible energy and resource related infrastructure,” he added.  

Dr Rosner said there needs to be a recognition that ‘threats’ to infrastructure have a multitude of causes, each of which have to be analysed for their own risk probability and costs associated with preventative actions on multiple levels.

“Information gathering, attention to detail, and an inclusive consideration of all options that could debilitate infrastructure is a good place to start,” he added.

Highlighting the cybersecurity threat in the wake of recent attacks, Dr Kevin Macnish, teaching fellow and consultant at the University of Leeds in the UK, said more investment is needed in infrastructure security across the Gulf,

“Cybersecurity is becoming a greater concern, especially in the wake of the Stuxnet attack in Iran,” said Dr Macnish, who will speak about the meaning and purpose of ethical security at Infrasec.

"The ability to attack and bring down critical assets from a distance without recourse to missiles or aeroplanes is easier now than ever before," he noted.  

“Furthermore, there are hackers who will do this for a fee so that one doesn’t need the resources of the state to bring about a successful attack.  One can invest all the money in the world on physical security and still experience a significant attack if computer systems are not subject to similar levels of security,” he added.

The one-day pre-conference workshop and two-day conference is supported by Intersec, the world’s largest trade show for safety, security and fire protection; Bahrain’s National Oil and Gas Authority; and Bahrain National Gas Company (Banagas).

Welcoming Messe Frankfurt’s choice of Bahrain to convene the summit, Dr Mirza said Bahrain provided an attractive environment for hosting such international conferences and exhibitions.

"The dependence on energy supply throughout the Middle East makes it imperative to ensure the safe and secure distribution of these resources to keep economies running," remarked Ahmed Pauwels, the CEO of Messe Frankfurt Middle East.

"Infrasec will address these issues head-on, bringing together leading international security experts and thought leaders with regional stakeholders and energy-related decision makers," he noted.

Other headline speakers include Prof David Stupples of Electronic and Radio Systems at the University of London; Malcolm Smith, the head of group security at Sasol Petrochemicals, South Africa; Keith Tupman, the principal security advisor at the Kuwait Oil Company; and Halim Boudiaf, the former security manager at ConocoPhillips, Algeria.-TradeArabia News Service