{"id":109268,"date":"2026-05-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/?p=109268"},"modified":"2026-05-21T03:13:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T03:13:07","slug":"civilian-digital-infrastructure-moves-to-the-front-line-dco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2026\/05\/21\/civilian-digital-infrastructure-moves-to-the-front-line-dco\/","title":{"rendered":"Civilian digital infrastructure moves to the front line: DCO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Civili<\/strong>an digital infrastructu<\/strong>re is becoming a frontline security issue<\/strong>, with governments, telecom operators, and media organizations warning that cyberattacks, AI-driven misinformation, and service disruptions are now capable of triggering full-scale civilian crises, that was the main takeaway from a webinar hosted by the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), attended by EnterpriseAM.<\/p>\n

Digital systems are no longer viewed as backend technology layers<\/strong>, but as core national infrastructure underpinning healthcare, banking, emergency response, communications, and public trust. \u201cWhen hospitals lose access to digital ecosystems, emergency alerts are manipulated, or when civilians cannot access banking, civil records, or travel information, the impact is no longer merely technical,\u201d said Syed Shah, technical publications director at the DCO. \u201cIt becomes a civilian crisis affecting trust, security, and continuity of essential services,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n

The emerging risks span a broad spectrum<\/strong>, from AI-driven misinformation campaigns and soft cyberattacks aimed at undermining trust and social cohesion, to more severe attacks that can cause physical harm by targeting utilities, hospitals and other critical infrastructure systems, according to a DCO report seen by EnterpriseAM. They also include traditional physical disruptions that can destabilize civilian digital services and broader economic activity \u2014 such as supply chain blockades and attacks on submarine cables, which carry roughly 95% of global data traffic, as well as data centers and telecom infrastructure.<\/p>\n

IN CONTEXT- <\/strong>The discussion comes as the Iran conflict\u2019s early strikes on digital infrastructure in the UAE and Bahrain, along with maritime disruptions and GPS jamming, have underscored the vulnerability of regional digital and cloud infrastructure. <\/p>\n

\n

Governments in fortify mode<\/p>\n

Keeping it running:<\/strong> Government priorities are moving from digital expansion toward ensuring continuity during crises. \u201cThe focus today is shifting from digital transformation to digital resilience,\u201d said the Digital Government Authority\u2019s Salman Alghliga. He added that governments now need unified governance frameworks covering cybersecurity, disaster recovery, data governance, and business continuity, supported by regular stress testing and crisis simulations.<\/p>\n

\n

The private sector\u2019s growing cyber burden<\/p>\n

More users, more data, more ways in: <\/strong>Telecom operators and digital service providers are facing growing pressure to secure expanding volumes of customer data as AI tools and digital financial services scale, said Salman Tariq, head of HCC Security and Business Continuity at Jazz World in Pakistan.<\/p>\n

Defending the digital floodgates: <\/strong>Companies are now investing heavily in cybersecurity infrastructure, emergency response systems, and AI governance as businesses develop new AI-powered products and services. \u201cThe public needs to know that their data, their financial information, is secure,\u201d Tariq said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Digital systems are no longer viewed as backend technology layers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":109269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2547],"tags":[1711,10,66,680],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-109268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-infrastructure","tag-cybersecurity","tag-enterpriseam-ksa","tag-infrastructure","tag-telecoms","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"799d5829-eeb2-4a91-9b32-145ded304c4c","order":"7","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2024\/8\/552.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"The frontline security issue","related_issue":[109256],"teaser":"Digital systems are no longer viewed as backend technology layers"},"yoast_head":"\nCivilian digital infrastructure moves to the front line: DCO - 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