Privacy and security of data is paramount in the UAE, the chairman of the country’s telecommunications provider has assured.

Speaking about ‘The Future of Internet of Things’ at the World Government Summit, His Excellency Ahmad Bin Byat, Chairman of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (du), said: “We are aware of the concerns and anxieties related to privacy and data security and [their] social implications.

“However, as we all know, every innovation in history has gone through those that try to disapprove it, break it or even steal it.”

But Bin Byat is confident of the UAE’s capabilities to secure data exchanged over its networks as the nation moves further into an Internet of Things era towards it’s 2021 vision that sees Dubai as the Smartest City in the world.

He explained: “Our government is deeply rooted in the safety and security of data and exclusive use of this [IOT] information to the benefit of its city and residents.

“We are further assured because of the robustness of our technology infrastructure and digital maturity that we’ve been able to achieve this objective.”