Qatar, Turkey to co-operate in cyber security field

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and the Qatar National Research Fund are to begin implementing the cyber security part of the agreement on Scientific and Technological Co-operation signed between both sides.In a statement to the Turkish Anadolu Agency, (TUBITAK) president Aref Ergin, said that a Qatari delegation visited Turkey last week and held several meetings in which they agreed to concentrate on the first projects to be implemented under the agreement of scientific cooperation and technology in the field of cyber security.Ergin said that under the co-operation agreement, support will be given to projects that aim to develop the technology needed to protect the vital infrastructure of banks and other institutions, power distribution and transmission lines and electronic communications.Projects aimed at strengthening mobile devices and smart applications that store large amounts of data on cloud computing (icloud) will be supported in a secure manner against cyber attacks and threats.Turkish and Qatari researchers will form consortiums of companies from the private sector and public bodies, and will grant $2mn to each consortium to implement joint projects between the two countries, said Ergin.The co-operation agreement was signed in December 2015, during a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Qatar.