Examining the impact of cybersecurity on banking and financial legislation in the Middle East.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The introduction of the internet promised to improve efficiencies for businesses while the financial sector was bound to benefit the most. Optimisation of the banking process has been the case in the past few decades, demonstrating the importance of internet services. However, the new connectivity came along with cybercrime that is increasingly becoming a global phenomenon. The banking sector in the Middle East can attest to severe financial losses attributable to offences of illegal access to their computer systems. While the issue is replicating throughout the region at an unprecedented rate, the legislation has failed to control its spread. Complacent behaviour from both the governments and private institutions motivate repeated attacks on IT infrastructure. These are just mere cybersecurity issues that this paper strives to address. The complex nature of cybersecurity from the technical perspective and legal perception motivates exploration of this paper. On most cases, understanding the basic principles of cybersecurity is barely adequate to criminalise relative offences. Therefore, this dissertation embarks on exhaustive research to outline multidimensional aspects of the phenomena and identify existing gaps in the legal framework within Middle East countries. The objective is to assist institutions, governments in the region to develop effective instruments for combating cybercrime. This will rely on a comparative approach where insights from other successful cybersecurity will be leveraged to inform response mechanism in the Middle East.