From a practical and operational perspective, compared to the 2010 approach, the
strategy now needs to focus on: making it a requirement that Cyber Security becomes a
mandatory, legally binding and enforceable target for the Lebanon’s information system
infrastructure at large; enhancing the Cyber Defense capabilities of our Country against
the many different malicious Cyber Crimes and Cyber Attacks; and outlining the
structure of a centralized body placed under the authority of the Presidency of the
Council of Ministers, which will be responsible for implementing the components of this
strategy.
In 2018, the Lebanese Parliament ratified Law number 81, “Law of electronic
transactions”, which contains a chapter on the preservation of electronic evidence.
Some universities in Lebanon have restructured their curricula and opened Master’s
degree programs in Cyber Security and digital forensics.
Lebanon has also cooperated with other ICT-advanced countries and International
Organizations in the field of Cyber Security.
A digital transformation strategy on the State level is being developed under the
supervision of OMSAR.
In 2018 and 2019, under the framework of the CyberSouth project which was
organized by the Council of Europe, the Ministry of Justice trained around 20 judges on
how to face Cyber Criminality. Though it is in the right direction, this effort is not
sufficient and the Ministry of Justice needs to address the subject on the highest level.
The Ministry of Telecommunications is playing a major role in the deployment of a
decently effective infrastructure in an intensive collaboration with private operators and
OGERO, and regularly addresses Cyber Security issues with national stakeholders. It has
established coordinating efforts with ITU (International Telecommunication Union) to
improve the Cyber Security index in Lebanon.
Banque du Liban (BDL) has developed and implemented, in a continuous
improvement approach, a mature, standard-based, advanced and innovative Cyber
Security Program that permits BDL to anticipate and defeat Cyber Attacks. This program
is composed of two main pillars, and follows continuously the latest Worldwide IT
Security Best Practices and Standards:
The Security Governance & Compliance Part: the first pillar contains the
Definition & Update of BDL IT Security Roadmap, elaboration and follow-up of
IT Security Policies, proactive risk assessment & management, and the launching
and evaluation of the Security Awareness program.
The Defense-in-Depth Security Approach: is composed of multi-layered, multitechnology security solutions, covering the Network & Endpoint Security
June 2019
LEBANON NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY STRATEGY
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