The SPE Symposium: Cyber Security and Business Resilience for the Oil and Gas Industry organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers and will be held at the Sofitel Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai, from 29–31 March 2016.

An opening keynote speech on “Cyber Protection and Security Operations” will be delivered by Abdulrahman E. Muagle, Chief Information Security Officer from Saudi Aramco, followed by an Executive Plenary Session themed “Cyber-Attack in Oil and Gas Companies: Current and Future Landscape’. Industry experts such as Sali Osman, Senior Manager Risk Transformation and Cybersecurity, Ernst & Young; Osama Alsulaiman, Director for Key Industries, Oracle Saudi Arabia; and Tamer Charife, Senior Manager, Kuwait/Cyber Risk Services Leader, Deloitte will join Abdulrahman E. Muagle in this session.

“The complex nature of cyber-attacks and those specifically targeted against the oil and gas industry have been increasing over the years, this symposium will bring cyber security experts to share experiences and evaluate readiness for the current and future cyber security threats”, said Mohammad A. Muhareb, symposium Chairperson, General Supervisor of Petroleum Engineering Data Management Division, Saudi Aramco.

Jamal Al-Enezi, Symposium Co-Chairman and Team Leader Information Security, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) continued explaining the importance of such gatherings and said, “Targeted cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure have been rapidly increasing. As a result, it is crucial for oil and gas professionals to keep up with evolving technologies and how to best protect the industry from these threats, the SPE Symposium will provide the venue to share knowledge with industry leading expertise”.

On the second day of the symposium, Osama Alsulaiman will also be delivering a keynote speech on Cyber Protection and Security Operations. The technical programme includes 6 highly focused sessions with more than 20 presentations.

Oil and gas companies are now increasingly aware of the disruptive threats posed to their business from cyber-attacks, both to their business sensitive information, and perhaps of greater concern, to their operating control infrastructure. As technology has evolved over the past decade, the oil and gas industry has seen an increased risk around the security of their industrial control systems.