Mastercard announced over the weekend that it has teamed up with Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) to launch new enhanced regional cybersecurity efforts through the “Cyber Forward” program. According to Mastercard, Cyber Forward is to build secure digital ecosystems through public-private partnerships.
“The Global Cyber Forward program combines Mastercard’s cutting-edge capabilities in cyber security with those of leading public sector organizations to create secure digital ecosystems at a national, local and city-level. This partnership with DIFC will help boost cyber readiness and resilience across the financial industry, enabling effective cyber security oversight through the Dubai Financial Service Authority (DFSA) Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) that was launched in January 2020.”
Mastercard further revealed that DIFC is home to over 2,500 financial related companies, including 17 of the world’s top 20 banks and over 240 fintech and innovation companies. Essa Kazim, Governor of Dubai International Financial Centre, spoke about the collaboration by stating:
“This global partnership between DIFC and Mastercard supports the National Cybersecurity Strategy and Dubai Cyber Security Strategy. As the leading financial center in the MEASA region, we are committed to being at the forefront of initiatives, including cybersecurity, that will advance the finance industry globally, regionally, and in Dubai. Firms and individuals will be able to benefit from our collaborative approach to managing the issue and see Dubai as the region’s safest place to undertake their financial activities.”
Ajay Bhalla, President, Cyber and Intelligence, Mastercard added:
“Cybercrime is one of the biggest threats to consumer trust. Without trust we cannot do business – more so now than at any other time in history. We are developing and embedding the latest cyber technologies, in collaboration with our partners around the world, to help advance security and trust in the digital ecosystem. Our partnership with DIFC will help to create more secure and thriving digital economies.”
