KUWAIT CITY, Dec. 1 -- Kuwait launched on Sunday the 4th Industrial Automation and Control Systems (KIACS) Conference with an aim of studying ways to cope with cyberattacks against oil and gas industry.

During the opening speech, Sheikh Nemr Fahad Al-Malek Al-Sabah, undersecretary of the Kuwaiti oil ministry, said Kuwait has made remarkable progress in the past years in KIACS, but still faces great challenges such as cyber threats to infrastructure and information security.

"Addressing the threats to the national security is one of the priorities of Kuwait to ensure the safety and protection of its citizens," he said.

Kuwait has proposed new legislation to help strengthen the cybersecurity infrastructure while encouraging the exchange of information between the government and the private sectors, the Kuwaiti official noted.

More than 1,800 representatives of companies specializing n information security participated in the two-day conference that is expected to show the latest developments in the field of information security.