The Global Cybersecurity Forum in Riyadh concludes its activities with an emphasis on the importance of a global collaboration towards a “Better Cyber World”

The first edition of the Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) concluded its activities with participation of more than 120 speakers and 3500 attendees. The Forum was conducted at the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and organized by the National Cybersecurity Authority of Saudi Arabia (NCA).
The Forum witnessed the announcement of two initiatives by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz AlSaud, The Crown Prince of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . The first initiative is about the protection of children in the cyberspace, whereas the second is about the empowerment of women in the cyber security field. Both initiatives received remarkable recognition and support among participants who expressed their positive feedback for the expected positive impact of those two initiatives at both national and international levels.
The Forum concluded its activities by announcing the "Riyadh Declaration for Cybersecurity", which encourages all to support a number of goals and recommendations for a better cyberspace for everyone.
Throughout the Forum's two consecutive days in Riyadh, several important topics were discussed including: raising cyber resilience and capabilities at the national level, building of the capabilities necessary for cyber resilience for global businesses, the role of cybersecurity as an enabler for the digital economy, the importance of international collaboration to create a safer cyber world, industrial systems’ cyber threats and ways to address them, the protection of critical national infrastructures, the future of global cybersecurity, the importance of cooperation between governments and private sector to enhance the cybersecurity ecosystem, confronting cybercrime and understanding its nature, and the importance of facing cyber challenges, and the ways to develop cybersecurity skills and workforce.
The Forum also included dedicated sessions about developing skills and preparing human capabilities in cybersecurity, and ways to bridge the gap of current and future workforce needs, protection of children on the Internet, participation and empowerment of women in cybersecurity, and women's role in bridging the gender gap in this field, and cybersecurity in health care, energy, financial services, telecommunications and smart cities.
The participants of the Forum emphasized on the importance of seizing the economic and social development opportunities of connected global systems and rapidly evolving technologies, the necessity of cooperation to face the common challenges related to cyber risks and cybercrimes, and the importance of scientific and research collaboration as well as knowledge exchange in order to perform better practices in cybersecurity, the importance of determination to act and confront criminal behaviors in cyberspace that exploit the global Internet to incite extremism, violence and terrorism, the importance of the continuation of the GCF as a global platform for exchanging ideas and experiences, launching initiatives to enhance cybersecurity, and creating mechanisms for international cooperation and joint action for both the public and private sectors.
Participants expressed their appreciation of the Saudi Arabian government's efforts to make the first edition of GCF a success emphasizing at the same time on the importance of making the GCF a recurring event in Riyadh.