Siege countries’ use of electronic armies has imperilled region

The tactics of employing the social media by the countries which have imposed an unjust siege on Qatar have created “a dangerous social reality” in the region, Qatar University President Dr Hassan Rashid al-Derham has said.Speaking at a symposium on ‘social networking sites and national security’ held by Qatar University in Doha, Dr Hassan Rashid al-Derham said such campaigns carried out by the siege countries have “created a great deviation from the moral point of view”.Dr al-Derham said that the siege countries employed non-traditional tools, especially the electronic armies which are known in the media as the malicious digital flyers, in order to justify their unjust siege imposed on Qatar, to strike at the social and political cohesion of the country and to disrupt its economic security and stability. But the vigilance of the people of Qatar and the readiness of the country’s institutions rose to the level of the challenge and Qatar was able to foil the siege countries’ scheming projects.The QU president highlighted the exceptional efforts made by the national media institutions in Qatar to address the plot and face it, by raising community awareness and promoting the principles of cohesion in the face of injustice and aggression.Dr al-Derham said that the symposium focuses on a topic that has become very important lately, namely social networking sites and national security, and reiterated the role of media experts in understanding these challenges and their significance in order to understand its truth and how it works.He pointed to the role of the media in stabilising societies and maintaining their cohesion in peacetime, as well as its ability to control the fate of nations and peoples in times of war and major crises.He pointed out that many experiences have shown that the poor employment of social media is becoming a major challenge to the national security of countries. The symposium highlighted the growing political, economic, security, cultural and social roles that social networking sites can play in today’s world.It discussed the impact and working methods of social networking sites and how to control them and define their borders so as to enable countries not to be surprised by a possible attack from hostile parties, thereby developing the possible tools to counter these attacks by leveraging the states’ resources to the maximum degree and raising their readiness to protect the national security of the state.The symposium also studied, analysed and commented on a number of aspects related to the implications of the use of social and human sites on the social, psychological, legal and media levels.The participants stressed the importance of discussing the social networking sites and their implications, given all that they represent for the Qatari society and its vital institutions in various sectors, and the repercussions that they can have on the medium and long term.Dean of College of Arts and Sciences Dr Rashid al-Kuwari said technological development in the communications field has resulted in strange behavioural patterns.Although sometimes seen as a blessing to humanity, there is a negative side to it that must be handled and given the correct direction, especially if these effects have implication on the people or country’s security, he added.Al-Kuwari said universities and research centres have a large role in promoting the community’s awareness about the threats and to conduct researches on the technologies and programmes, as well as set strategies to deal with them and contain their the negative effects on society, especially on the security level.He added that co-operation between entities responsible for security and universities is a link in a series of activities, events and projects that will focus on confronting and containing the effects of social networking sites and the development of educational and awareness materials necessary to understand the dimensions and backgrounds of the topic.In two sessions, the symposium touched on the media, social and psychological aspects of social networking sites, criminal responsibility and cyber security.During the closing session a discussion was held on the main ideas and recommendations were presented.