Cyber(in)securities

At the center of the cybersecurity issue in Lebanon resides, as with many issues in this country, an unfortunate and seemingly unmovable constellation. In one corner towers the banking sector as the primary force and primary concern for all things economic and also all things digital. The banking industry, as all the expert voices in conversations with Executive about the cybersecurity issue acknowledged, is the biggest target for cyberattacks and the most advanced in awareness, preparedness and spending on cybersecurity in Lebanon. Crouching in the opposite corner is the public sector. It is limited by severe lack of information technology (IT) spending budgets in general, and cyberdefense in specific. Many ministries are not equipped with a single cybersecurity specialist in their IT departments. In the perception of experts on Lebanon’s cybersecurity, the public sector is in a worse state than the private sector and moreover gives the appearance of being