Manama, Bahrain - BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, concluded their participation as platinum sponsors of the Arab International Cybersecurity Summit 2022, held from 6th-8th December, 2022 at Exhibition World Bahrain.

The event was co-hosted by the National Cyber Security Centre and was held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain. On behalf of HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, National Security Advisor,Royal Guard Commander and His Majesty’s representative for Humanitarian Works and Youth Affairs, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, has opened the inaugural Arab International Cybersecurity Conference and Exhibition.

The Arab International Cybersecurity Summit is the region's largest convention for government regulators, industry professionals, and solution suppliers to explore and devise strategies to safeguard their cyber and IT infrastructure. The conference provided a worldwide overview of all areas of the cybersecurity and information security hierarchy in any company, with the key subject of Empowering Global Cooperation in Cybersecurity.

Supporting its participation at the event, BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Abdulwahed AlJanahi was one of the keynote speakers, addressing the company's stance on cybersecurity, its future, and their significant contributions. In addition, Abdulwahed AlJanahi has emphasized BENEFIT’s expertise in grasping cybersecurity tools, as well as generating innovative and cutting-edge technologies for protection against potential vulnerabilities. As the Kingdom’s leader in FinTech services, BENEFIT expanded its educational outreach initiatives across all social channels in order to inform and educate consumers on how to recognize fraud while taking prompt action on their own.

BENEFIT’s Head of Information Security, Ali Beshara also spoke at the event, hosting a session titled, “Governance Structures and protection of Critical Financial Infrastructure: Bahrain as an Example ''. As part of their participation, BENEFIT also set up a booth, which included a cybersecurity majlis.

Abdulwahed AlJanahi, Chief Executive at BENEFIT commented on the participation, “It is an honor to be able to support large scale events such as this one. Being Platinum Sponsors demonstrates BENEFIT's dedication to cybersecurity and its continued efforts to place Bahrain on the global Fintech map. This summit highlights that cybersecurity has been appropriately boosted to high priority across governments and corporate sectors across the Arab region, both of which are investing substantial time and effort to safeguard the digital era. The event had an outstanding roster, bringing together some of the world's best digital security professionals, activists, and leaders. Their collaboration has served to set the tone for how our country will manage cybersecurity in the coming years, and their expertise is invaluable.”

“Supporting this initiative is consistent with BENEFIT's mission of bolstering Bahrain's efforts in offering industry-leading solutions to equip companies for the transitional online realm, which comes with a number of threats.” He added.

Ali Beshara, Head of Information Security - CISO at BENEFIT, commented, “The rise in cyber risk has raised awareness and expectations about cybersecurity concerns, with organizations being assessed on their readiness, resilience, and response in the aftermath of an attack. Bahrain is dedicated to protecting its interests in cyberspace by tackling these threats in order to strengthen preparedness and information security in government institutions and Bahrain in general, as seen by its multiple initiatives, including this event. The summit has offered valuable insights and guidance on how the public and private sectors may constantly identify and handle these rising digital threats to effectively secure their operations.

The event has gathered a number of local cyber professionals from various industries, including Banking & Financial Services, Insurance, Renewable & Solar Energy, Telecommunication, Education, Transportation, and many more, to explore new ideas for leveraging the power of cybersecurity technologies. The summit featured a total of 100+ hours of impactful content, networking opportunities with over a thousand cybersecurity professionals in the region and beyond, 120+ speakers, and over 150 exhibitors.

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About BENEFIT

BENEFIT was established in 1997 and is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as an ancillary service provider to the Kingdom’s financial services industry. BENEFIT is owned by Banks in Bahrain, regulated by the CBB, to provide innovative Payment Capabilities, Information Management Solutions, and Business Process Outsourcing Services across different sectors in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Region.

BENEFIT’s range of services – supported by GCCNet in countries within the region – include operating of Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Point of Sale (POS), GCCNet, The GCCNet Dispute Management System, Credit Reference Bureau (CRB), Telecom Bill Payment (Tele BP), Direct Debit (DD), Payment Gateway (PG), Bahrain Cheque Truncation System (BCTS), Amex Cards withdrawal, eCheque, EFTs, national eWallet and national eKYC Platform for the financial sectors.